i saw this post about enrolling in "grace university" posted by anonymous on another blog.
which cracked me up because i (as a parent of THREE teenagers) know why it was published under the name ANONYMOUS.
FIRST... because EVERY parent of a teenager could have written it. and SECOND... had any parent claimed that they penned these words their teenagers would have said, "YOU ARE RUINING MY LIFE BY PUBLISHING THINGS ABOUT ME ON THE INTERNET!" and slammed their bedroom door and perhaps someone's house can't stand another bedroom door slamming without falling in. these are just guesses on my part... educated guesses...
PARENTING TEENAGERS IN GRACE UNIVERSITY
I’ve never learned so much about grace as I have in parenting teenagers – mainly in giving it.
The grace to love them when they don’t want to be loved.
The grace to love when they are not very loveable.
The grace to keep giving when it seems I can never give enough.
The grace to keep giving when there’s no giving in return.
The grace to forgive when I know the sin will be repeated again…and again.
The grace to ask forgiveness even when most of the sin was on the other side.
The grace to say “Sorry” even if I will not be forgiven.
The grace to communicate when there’s no communication in return.
The grace to offer help when help is not welcomed.
The grace to give advice, when the advice will be rejected.
The grace to say “Yes” when they deserve a “No.”
The grace to be resented for my love.
The grace to be viewed as uncool rather than über trendy.
The grace to not let the sun go down upon my anger.
The grace to explain when I could simply demand.
The grace to never be told, “Dad you were right and I was wrong.”
The grace to be thought of as an enemy for trying to be a faithful friend.
The grace to rejoice in their successes even when there are serious failings elsewhere.
The grace to pursue reconciliation when I’m the wronged party.
The grace to accept that I’ll never be the super-parent I wanted to be and others seem to be.
This is the hardest university I’ve ever been in, and I’m not sure if I’m ever going to graduate. If I do, it certainly won’t be with honors. However, I’m learning so much about God’s lifelong grace towards me (and about my parents’ grace towards me over 30 years ago), that I’d be willing to repeat the course.
By Anonymous.
from headhearthand blog
so true. i am pursuing a doctorate degree from grace university as we speak (well, as i type and you read.) it is much harder than my undergraduate studies ever were. longer. more painful. much more intense. pressure filled. project ridden. many more failing grades than passing scores. tests every day. every minute. (always open Book tests and yet, i forget to look at the Book for the Answers.) and despite all those obstacles, i do think it will be my finest work. because it won't actually be my work at all...
deuteronomy 1:30-31
The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness.
There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.