When Kids Rebel
Posted on August 22, 2007
Filed Under Spiritual Life, Parenting
Growing up, I had a pretty easy life. My parents provided a stable and loving home. We were involved in church and the usual sports and community activities. As a teen, I never did drugs, only had a few traffic tickets and generally made pretty good choices. God’s gracious hand was protecting me, I am certain! Someone, somewhere, was praying for me, and I avoided the difficulties that many kids experience.
Over the years, though, I’ve seen friends and family members struggle with wayward children. Somehow, godly parents often seem to have a child who is stubborn and chooses to chart their own course. It is a heartache beyond compare to watch young people defiantly go astray from the values they’ve been taught. Some have chosen drugs, sexual promiscuity, even a life of crime. I’ve learned that you cannot judge a parent’s”work”by a child’s choices. Kids make their own paths, and that does not necessarily reflect the influence of their mom or dad.
That said, at times we as parents don’t help our children when we overcommit, are apathetic or become absorbed in things outside the home. Without a constant homeward focus, with intentional time and energies devoted to our sons and daughters, we may be setting them up to make some bad choices.
Dick Gauch admitted he made some parenting mistakes. His daughter went wayward, and he accepts his part in her rebellious choices. His story is powerful, and I am moved to be a better dad by this three-part broadcast.
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