Parent Challenge: Imagining The End

MAKE IT PERSONAL:  Imagining the End

Focus your energy and effort on the issues that will make a lasting impact.

During the course of this series we have spent some time talking to your teenagers about guardrails. As parents, we understand the importance of setting things in place that help protect us from making potentially dangerous decisions—when it comes to our personal lives, and the lives of our children. And while we all want our kids to make wise choices and be intentional with the things they put in place to keep them from being at risk, we don’t ever want them to believe that the choices they make or don’t make determine our love and care for them. Which is why, for this series we want to encourage you, as parents, to encourage your child by telling them about the good you already see in them. The idea is not to just point out the good things they have done, but the good that exists in them simply because God made them.

Here you are going to have the opportunity to write your child a letter to encourage them as they walk through their tumultuous teen years. Think of the things you have seen in your child since they were just little toddlers running around the house. Think of the times they have really impressed you or caught you off guard, demonstrating something uniquely special. Use those memories to draft a letter letting them know that you love them; express to them all the great things that you see and hope for them. Remember, this is not a time to put extra pressure on your child to succeed but instead to encourage them in the specific gifts, characteristics and talents you have seen blossom throughout their lives. It is also a time to encourage them in their walk with the Lord and remind them that He has a specific purpose for their life.

Below you will find an opening and a closing line to your letter. But be sure to write this in your own hand–writing and make it personal. Think of this as a love letter to your child as you commit to helping them become all God has made them to be.

Opening: God has given you as a gift to our family and in you I see …

Closing: Whatever the situation and wherever you find yourself in life, I’m here to help you get to where you want to be.

I know we all have busy lives, but I challenge you to write this letter and give it to your son or daughter in the next week or two.