As you read this, I hope that you have a warm cup of coffee and a comfortable chair because some time of relaxed reflection may result. So find your “inner place of thought” and let’s go… I am curious how you respond to your children when you see them fail. Perhaps you are surprised or maybe you think that it reminds you of yourself. Often I hear parents say that they see themselves in their children, and we don’t find this surprising since our DNA speaks heavily of close knit replication. On that first glorious day of birth we say, “Hey, she has my eyes” or “… looks like Grampa’s chin…” These are normal and correct observations that we all make.

What about when we see our child acting in a certain way that we really don’t want to promote, but we dismiss it because we could see ourselves doing the same thing? In the world of psychology we call this “projecting.” Basically, this is placing our own feelings on someone else who is truly uniquely different.

At some point along the road, we will have to step up and reteach the child’s path or watch them struggle with the consequences of our lack of intervention.

So I implore you to prayerfully consider this thought and ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom in this point.

Blessings,

~ Otto & Kristin Getz
Directors of Family & Children’s Ministry