Parenting is arguably the most demanding job any of us will ever have. While are children are under our care, we protect them, shape their character, inform their world-views, and lay the groundwork for their own spiritual journeys. We also referee, comfort, and perform thousands of seemingly mundane tasks. Though the nature of how we love and serve our children changes as they grow up, it doesn’t necessarily get easier.
In fact, it can become more stressful and more emotionally exhausting in midlife when teens and parents might both be going through hormonal shifts, facing the existential angst of what’s next?, and navigating major relational transitions — let alone Covid19. Because the intensity of midlife parenting can jeopardize even the healthiest marriages, it’s essential for us to prioritize transformation as we nurture this most important relationship.
A Catalyst for Change
Parenting turns up the heat from the refining fire that we unwittingly lit when we exchanged marriage vows. Where marriage invites us to love sacrificially, parenting demands it. In the early years of parenting I was shocked at how frequently I felt impatient and angry. Looking back, I think those feelings were mostly attributable to bone-deep exhaustion, recurrent losses of control, and the solitary LEGO block that I never saw but always stepped on. These daily humiliations can become a powerful impetus to change.
To read the remained of this excerpt from Marriage in the Middle, please click this ink to Patheos.
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