What is a Parent?

I was raised in a pretty religious home. We went to church every Sunday, did the youth activities during the week, family things at home and a lot of other things. Throughout my adult life, I have struggled off and on with my spirituality. I have gone through times where I did my very best to do what I should be doing and then I have had times where I had nothing to do with it and then I have been in between. One thing I have never let go of is my belief in God and his Son Jesus Christ. That belief has always been a constant in my life.

The last several months I have been little by little trying to improve on my spirituality. I'm not doing it all at once that is for sure and I still have my rebellious moments and attitudes. Usually Sundays, I find some excuse to not go to church, when in reality, it is just laziness. Today I actually got up, got us all ready to go in plenty of time and we made it to church. I must have been inspired that today of all days, I needed to be at church. My kids must have been too because, for the most part, they got ready to go. I am so glad I made it today. I left feeling inspired, uplifted and a little bit scared too. :)

Being a parent is a sacred calling from God. We are put in charge of teaching our children to be the best they can possibly be. We do that with love, example, education, discipline and communication. Our children, as we are, are children of God. We have every obligation to protect the children of God. That is an awesome responsibility. We need to teach them about tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, respect (for themselves, other people, things, country and God), obeying the law, the ten commandments, do unto others, lying, cheating, charity, service, self esteem, cleanliness, not to mention whatever your religious beliefs are. Religion aside, these are all things that every parent needs to teach to their children. No parent starts out by saying, "I'm going to teach my kid to smoke, drink, do drugs, watch pornography and have all the sex they want." We all want to protect our children from these things.

We can protect them when they are around us. We can put the filters on our computers, limit what tv shows and movies they watch, what music they listen to and what people they are around, but what do we do to protect our children when they aren't around us? As a friend pointed out today, we talk to our children and teach them so they are armed with knowledge for when they don't have their parents' protection. Knowledge is power!!!

Knowledge is not only power for our kids, but for us as parents as well. If we are constantly seeking out knowledge on what is going on with kids now and how to deal with their unique struggles, then we have power. Power to help our kids and protect our kids.

I do not profess to be a great and wonderful parent. I am quite the opposite really. I fall short in so many ways. After the reminders that I had today though, I will strive to be a better parent. I will arm my children with KNOWLEDGE and LOVE. When those days come where they are faced with peer pressure and difficult decisions, I can only hope and pray that I gave them enough knowledge and love that they can and will make the right choices and resist peer pressure. I also hope and pray that I was open and honest with them enough, that they come to me and not a stranger or their friends or media who will give them the wrong information. That they will know I am the one that loves them enough to tell them the truth.

At the end of the meeting, we were told this is a great time to be a parent. In some ways that is true. We have so many resources and so much support literally at our fingertips. But, to me, there has never been a scarier time to be a parent. The world has desensitized us all to so many things that are bad for us. I am so guilty of that. It has become so common to see half naked people on billboards, in magazines, tv shows or movies, that it doesn't even register. As a parent I need to be forever vigilant in talking to my kids about these things so they will always know that it's not okay to exploit people that way to sell something. RESPECT!! That is what it all boils down to. Respect and love of ourselves and each other.