“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!”
1 John 3:1
Perhaps one of the reasons parents become impatient so quickly is because of a lack of perspective. ‘Put yourself in my shoes,’ seems to carry a lot more meaning when it comes from another adult, but when it comes from our kids, we can dismiss it pretty quickly. As adults and parents, we know what’s best for our kids. We know the outcome of their choices. But we often don’t take the time to see it from their perspective. Patient parents are still going to lead and guide their children to what’s best, but seeing the situation from their perspective helps us to keep our cool and shows them we care.
Here’s why that’s important for us to remember: We are children of God. God calls himself our Father, and we are his children. And just like our own children, we’ve made plenty of mistakes, bad decisions, and have not acted lovingly towards our Father. We’ve doubted that he knows best, we’ve argued back, and we’ve disobeyed. And we still do. Yet, “...God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8) He saw life from our perspective, he knew we’d need guidance, and because of that, he’s patient with us. We also need to be patient with our kids for the same reason! Seeing the situation from their point of view doesn’t make their choices right, but it does give us a little more patience with them.
Questions to think about:
Have I taken the time to see things from my children’s perspective lately?
How can I respond in a way that acknowledges their point of view?
Prayer:
God, I pray that you will help me see the bigger picture when I’m in the heat of frustration with my kids, and that you’ll help me to see their perspective when I’m distracted by my own. Help me give grace to myself when I mess up. Thank you for loving me and giving me a model of love to follow. Amen.