The Making of a Parent

Lately, many teens have been struggling with their relationship to their parents. Decisions that mom or dad make may annoy teens, and they are searching for a way out or a way to change their parents.

Sometimes, however, it’s more important to understand how the situation developed than it is to change it. Sometimes, you cannot change your circumstances, which is what we saw Sunday evening in the story of David’s relationship with his son, Absalom (2 Samuel 13-18).

Although David was a great man, with many great accomplishments, he appeared to have difficulty being successful at parenting Absalom. However, when we look into David's past, we find that many major things took place in his life before he ever became a father. Those things formed the man he became. Those circumstances formed his reasonings for his rules to Absalom.

Possibly, all Absalom thought was, "These stupid rules are ridiculous." However, David's perception of life and past experiences caused the rules to have reasons.

How can you deal with difficult rules? Walk with your parents awhile. Try to understand what caused these rules to become important to them. Maybe the end result will be that they'll lighten up a bit...or maybe you'll see the importance of them, and come to appreciate your parents more.

Word of God Speak

There's a popular Christian song called "Word of God Speak". I can't remember who sings it, but I hear it on the radio quite often. Part of the song says, "I'm finding myself at a loss for words..."

Several of my friends are having difficulty with their relationship with their parents. Actually, probably a majority of those still living at home have some type of friction between them and their parents, but some have it much more difficult than others.

Regarding one particularly tough situation recently, I was asked, "What is the answer?" I had to reply that I didn't know. Since that time, I've been thinking about the situation, and praying that God would give direction. Then it hit me...the books of the Bible that I've been reading from for my devos contain the answer. I've been reading first & second Samuel, and studying the story of David. He was a great man. A man after God's own heart. ...but he was also a father.

I'm not going to give away the story here, but tomorrow evening in Youth Group, I hope to unfold the story of one particularly difficult parent-child relationship, and what caused it. WORD OF GOD SPEAK THAT WE MAY FIND HELP WHEN WE'RE AT A LOSS FOR WORDS!