OK word of warning, proud dad moment coming up.
Yesterday my Eldest daughter spoke in city youth; my middle daughter is already a old hand at writing sermons and writes them for fun. It is one of those times when as a father I feel not only immensely proud but also immensely thankful.
As my kids grow up I am beginning to realise the pressure that comes from wanting to see your kids flourish and make the most of themselves, last week I make the Birthday cake for my youngest daughters 10th Birthday, man they grow up fast.
I realise they are their own people with their own thoughts, they have aspiration and ambition, I as their parent cannot guarantee how they will turn out but I can create an environment that will help and I hope cause them to flourish and make right life choices
I want an environment for my girls that is
- Positive , that believes in them , that causes them to dream big dreams, that banishes the word can’t and celebrates the word can
- Loving, that they know that they are loved, cherished and in knowing this have an understanding of their worth. To me one of our society’s greatest failings is our vilification of youth, we need to produce and show positive role models and we can only do this through love.
- Honest, If I want my girls to be honest with me I must be honest with them, tell the truth in love, create a open environment, build trust.
- Challenging: I refuse to rap my girls up in cotton wool, I want to stretch them, to cause them to think and become bigger people that will excel in the worlds they live in. I want to cause them to think and apply wisdom to decisions, they cannot do this if they have it all on a plate
- Spacious, I want them to have room to grow. I want them to make mistakes and learn from them while always supplying a safety net to help them if they need it, which is quite a balancing act for a parent to achieve.
When I put the cake in the oven I had to wait and hope that it would turn out right, however I trusted that if I put the right ingredients in it would stand a good chance. As it turned out the cake was a winner, full of chocolaty goodness.
I am thankful that we have a loving home, a great network of friends, an amazing church and a great youth and kids ministry which I believe provide the ingredients to produce beautiful kind amazing young woman who will grow up to flourish and become all that they can be.
Chocolate cake anyone?
