When I was younger, I thought my parents were strict. Especially in my teenage years (of course)! They had regulations on things that I thought at the time were silly. As I entered into adulthood, I slowly began to see the things they were trying to protect me from. They may have been a bit overboard at times, but the boundaries they had set up for me were meant to keep me safe. I wouldn't say they were overprotective. I was given choices and allowed to make mistakes. But they were involved in my life, always. And now, as a parent, I find myself having the concerns for my baby girl that my parents did for me. I get where they were coming from.
There are so many different parenting "techniques", if that's what you call them. This book says to do this, that Dr. said to do that. Don't do this. You'll scar them if you do that. What works for one child may not work for another. I feel overloaded!
A local news article this week concerning the sexual abuse of a minor by a "trusted" adult has shaken me to the core. I was holding Baby Girl as I read the article. Fear gripped my heart. I want to hold her and never let her go. Never let her out of my sight!! I found myself questioning the integrity of even those closest to us. How will I protect my baby from the crazy things in our world??
As I've been processing things this week, fear has attempted to cripple me many times. I've had to remind myself that my baby girl is in God's hands. I can't keep her in a bubble her whole life. I want her to learn, grow, make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Babe and I have and continue to pray for wisdom to know how to raise Baby Girl and our future children. We need that wisdom to know what works for us and our family. The unknown scares me. I like to know who, what, where and when. Life isn't predicable. Bad stuff happens. But my heavenly Father never leaves his children's side. He will hold my babies and never let them go. He will never let my babies out of his sight.
And so we will daily seek wisdom from our heavenly Father and trust that He's got our little family in His hands.
