Respecting the Integrity of the Child’s Struggle
“If, in loving our children, we want them to respond to personal leadings in life, we will need to teach them that sometimes it’s hard work… As a parent, I am tempted to take away difficult experiences from my children, deliver them miraculously from their hurts so that they can arrive at understanding without having had to struggle to earn it. We have been taught to think of negative emotions and pain as bad things, rather than growth producers. As parents, we can climb alongside our children as they struggle, but we cannot lift them to the mountaintop… [We must] respect the integrity of the child’s struggle.“
— Judy Nicholson Asselin and Denis Nicholson Asselin, 1996 (source)
Quaker authors and parents
Today’s Invitation
Embrace difficult experiences as opportunities for growth.
This Week’s Query
How do you move through conflict in your close relationships?
Have you ever experienced difficulty in your relationship with Spirit? What did you do?
Banner image: Joey Hartmann-Dow
