Its hard when your kids do what you have raised them to do!
Recently, my wife and I were invited to a BBQ in which the family who invited us was celebrating the new job of their 25-year-old, single daughter. She would be moving to downtown Chicago that very next morning. As we all gathered around the food, her father simply said “when you raise your kids to be bold and brave, it shouldn’t surprise you when they make bold and brave decisions.”
Maxwell
He could not be more right, but for some reason, its still so very hard to experience that phenomenon with your own kids. That exact same week that we were invited to the BBQ, our oldest son (age 23) would be marking his 1-year anniversary of having relocated to another state, purchased a house and started a new job all in an effort to further his own budding career.
Levi
Also, the exact same week, our second born (age 20)was promoting a new entrepreneurial move by starting his own line-dancing business. Yes, he had been teaching himself all the line-dancing songs and moves and had been asked by numerous groups to come and lead a dance party. He just decided to make a go of it as a money-making business.
Emma
ALSO the same week we were working on the final plans to take our third child (age 18) 2+ hours away to college where she earned an athletic scholarship and would be moving into the dorm and getting acquainted with her new team.
Audrey
Yes, also the same week, our youngest daughter would be turning age 16 and we had already secured a car for her that she had purchased with her own funds that have been saved by working every Saturday and weekdays over the summer at the local Chick-fil-A.
“The responsibility of leadership is to see those around us rise.”
Simon Sinek
Each of our kids, in their own way, were making bold and brave decisions. Three of our four kids will have moved out, and become more or less financially independent with the fourth pretty close behind.
Why is it that when they DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU RAISE THEM TO DO that its still hard and emotional?
As the quote above suggests, parenting IS leadership. We must set out to send out. And then EXPECT them to go. You will get over it. You will cry. You will bounce back. You will make it. Because you were intentional from the beginning. You were a deliberate parent. Now go be a proud one.
If you are a parent of young kids, there is one book, out of all the hundreds of books out there, that I recommend to help you to raise them with the right motivation. Shepherding a Childs Heart by Tedd Tripp is by far the best book I have personally read that helps parents get to the heart of why we parent and gives us motivation to keep going when it gets tough. You can get the book by using the link below.
