Angry Mom

So often in my parenting I find myself impatient, unsympathetic and even downright ornery.  I so often forget that my children are amazing gifts from my Father and have a tendency to see them instead as interruptions.  How can I lose sight of the fact that, other than God and my husband, they are my number 1 earthly priority.  I want them to do more than know that they are loved...I want them to FEEL loved by me.  I want them to feel cherished and appreciated and the Mom they often get falls short of that mark.

Right now I am being challenged by this book:



I should admit here that I have never read Dr. Chapman's classic "The Five Love Languages", but I am aware of the concepts running through it.  This book is shifting my paradigm for parenting.  It's showing me that many, many of my parenting "techniques" are causing damage...to the hearts of my children and to my overall parenting goals.  My impatience and anger are worse than just counter-productive.  They are downright hurtful.  I want to stop.  I want to follow the Lord's lead in loving my children well, with grace and compassion and in an unconditional way.  My prayer is that He will transform my heart, increase my love for my children and deepen my dependence on Him.  I want my parenting to be a model, albeit an imperfect one, of the love that God has for His children.

While I have a long way to go, I have already begun implementing some of the ideas in this book and am seeing almost immediate results.  I highly recommend this book, no matter where you are in your journey as a parent. 

I am glad that life is a journey filled with second chances and that our God is the God of new beginnings...aren't you?