Parenting teens has been difficult since the beginning of time, I have no doubt. I know I wasn't the easiest teen to parent. But there are unique challenges in parenting this generation because they are navigating challenges we know nothing about. What I wouldn't give to go back and have different conversations with Julian. Conversations that acknowledged that I haven't got a clue what he's going through because I grew up in a different world. A world that didn't demand my attention 24/7...conversations that were honest about my lack of knowledge about the struggles teens face today. But that I was willing to listen and learn. I would tell him that although I have the benefit of experience and learning from my mistakes, my mistakes weren't broadcasted for all of my peers to watch in real-time. My mistakes weren't a matter of life or death in my mind. And I would explain to him that I wasn't handed a How to Raise Teens in 2020 manual and that it's inevitable that I'm not going to get everything right. But that I would go to the ends of the earth to walk through these years with him and figure it out together.
There's so much on social media posted by teens who hold their parents responsible for one thing or another. We're too involved, not involved enough, too relaxed, or too strict. The fact is, every kid is different, and what one finds helpful, the other finds hurtful. WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS! We're all trying to figure this parenting teens thing out and most of us are doing the best we know how.
But despite the seemingly grim world we live in for both parents and teens, we can't forget the TRUTH. The truth is the only thing we can hold on to. The truth that God knows our needs and He knows the struggles 2024 holds for all of us. The enemy is after our families. Through all this, I've learned that I have to be on my knees daily because I cannot fight this spiritual battle alone. We need to be open to listening and guiding with humility, but this battle won't be won with clever parenting or the right words. Our struggle is not with our teens but with the enemy who wants to take them from us. We have no choice but to arm ourselves daily and be ready to fight for our kids because navigating this new world requires nothing short of a fight.
Oh, to have the chance to tell Julian no matter what he's facing, he's worth the fight.
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