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Parents, You Got This!
LeAnn Jahn • September 18, 2021
We all know that parenting is fun!
Did you think I was going to say...
Did you think I was going to say...
challenging, exhausting, emotionally draining, hard work, overwhelming?"
Or maybe...
Or maybe...
joyful, rewarding, heartwarming, amazing, awesome?
OK. So parenting is all of those, too.
I remember one night we went out to eat
when the kids were 1, 2, 4, and 6 years old.
The kids and I were with their dad and his parents.
It was 8:00 at night by the time we sat down at the table.
The kids were tired and hungry and usually went to bed at 8:30pm.
OK. So parenting is all of those, too.
I remember one night we went out to eat
when the kids were 1, 2, 4, and 6 years old.
The kids and I were with their dad and his parents.
It was 8:00 at night by the time we sat down at the table.
The kids were tired and hungry and usually went to bed at 8:30pm.
My father-in-law from my previous marriage was annoyed by the fact that the children
were not being as well mannered as they usually were when we went out to eat.
He was giving me a lecture about the benefits of spanking and how if they were his kids...
(Side note: I had decided when I was a teenager that I was never going to spank
were not being as well mannered as they usually were when we went out to eat.
He was giving me a lecture about the benefits of spanking and how if they were his kids...
(Side note: I had decided when I was a teenager that I was never going to spank
my children because I believed there was a better way.)
As the heated conversation continued, I saw and felt almost every head in the place
slowly turn our direction.
The locked stares of other restaurant patrons continued to grow and I felt
my cheeks grow hot and probably red from the unwanted attention.
Meanwhile, our waitress had pulled out plastic to-go condiment cups
and started building things out of them in order to keep the kids preoccupied.
I proceeded to tell him that expecting really little children to behave like adults in a public place at bedtime is an unrealistic expectation
AND
that God chose me to be their mom
AND
that if I believe that my way of parenting is better than spanking,
then maybe that is one of the reasons God chose me to be their mom.
I then excused the children and myself from the table
As the heated conversation continued, I saw and felt almost every head in the place
slowly turn our direction.
The locked stares of other restaurant patrons continued to grow and I felt
my cheeks grow hot and probably red from the unwanted attention.
Meanwhile, our waitress had pulled out plastic to-go condiment cups
and started building things out of them in order to keep the kids preoccupied.
I proceeded to tell him that expecting really little children to behave like adults in a public place at bedtime is an unrealistic expectation
AND
that God chose me to be their mom
AND
that if I believe that my way of parenting is better than spanking,
then maybe that is one of the reasons God chose me to be their mom.
I then excused the children and myself from the table
saying we needed to use the bathroom.
There, I cried.
It was one of many moments where the pressure to parent the "world's" way,
instead of the way God created me to parent, had tried to beat me down.
I wasn't in the bathroom long before our waitress had come in to see if I was OK.
She told me she thought I handled the situation really well.
That was over 10 years ago, but I remember that small act of kindness
as if it happened yesterday and continues to encourage me to this day.
We have felt all of the many emotions of parenting: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
But, I just want to tell you that no matter the emotion or situation...
You CAN do it!
There, I cried.
It was one of many moments where the pressure to parent the "world's" way,
instead of the way God created me to parent, had tried to beat me down.
I wasn't in the bathroom long before our waitress had come in to see if I was OK.
She told me she thought I handled the situation really well.
That was over 10 years ago, but I remember that small act of kindness
as if it happened yesterday and continues to encourage me to this day.
We have felt all of the many emotions of parenting: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
But, I just want to tell you that no matter the emotion or situation...
You CAN do it!
Inspirational Quotes
These Bible verses are taken from the public domain The World English Bible (WEB) version. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence visit http://www.ebible.org
These Bible verses are taken from the public domain The World English Bible (WEB) version. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence visit http://www.ebible.org
These Bible verses are taken from the public domain The World English Bible (WEB) version. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence visit http://www.ebible.org
These Bible verses are taken from the public domain The World English Bible (WEB) version. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence visit http://www.ebible.org
These Bible verses are taken from the public domain The World English Bible (WEB) version. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence visit http://www.ebible.org
These Bible verses are taken from the public domain The World English Bible (WEB) version. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence visit http://www.ebible.org
These Bible verses are taken from the public domain The World English Bible (WEB) version. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence visit http://www.ebible.org
These Bible verses are taken from the public domain The World English Bible (WEB) version. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence visit http://www.ebible.org
These Bible verses are taken from the public domain The World English Bible (WEB) version. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence visit http://www.ebible.org
