Hope from Upstream

Being a parent is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life and the most rewarding.  I was blessed with being the mother of a beautiful daughter.  That is all God blessed me with, but I think he knew what he was doing.  I truly believe that despite circumstances, I could have only been able to handle one child.

With that being said, my daughter is everything that I ever aspired to be in my life and she is truly my inspiration.  Her Father and I divorced when she was 6 years old, and then I made the mistake of marrying too soon and the second marriage was a disaster (a whole different blog post at a very different time).  But, she was my rock during that time and comforted me when a child shouldn't have to comfort a parent.

I was raised Lutheran and decided to raise my daughter Lutheran even though her Father was an unchurched Catholic.  His opinion on religion did not matter to me because if it would have been up to him we never would have gone to church, but I stood firm in my faith and went every Sunday with my daughter in tow. 

After my daughter was born, I asked my Mother what advice she could give me and this is what she said, "If you don't have control of your child at 4, you will never have control of them at 14."  That one sentence is what I based the rest of my child raising days on.  I decided that my daughter would know the difference between right and wrong.  That she would respect others at all times.  That she would have manners and above all that she would know Jesus.  The rest I figured I would just wing as it came along, but I felt in my heart that those 4 things would make a pretty incredible human being.

I'm not saying that we didn't have any rough patches along the way, but the compliments that I receive on my daughter fill my heart with joy more than anything you could possibly imagine.  My daughter and I always compare ourselves to the "Gilmore Girls".  We have each other's best interest at heart, we may not get along 100% of the time or I may not agree with a decision that she has made, but at the end of the day we can talk about it and reflect.

She is a freshman at college this year and it has been an adjustment.  I pray everyday for her safety and for guidance in her decisions.  When she first left for college I was just a glimpse in her rearview mirror and it was hard for me to take a backseat.  As the year has progressed, I have noticed that she is calling me more and more.  Asking about my opinion on things or to tell me some silly thing that happened between her friends and her (usually not as funny as she thinks it is but I play along).  My heart is full of gladness and now we can move on to a different stage in our mother/daughter relationship.

So, my advice for new mothers or new parents.....

1.  If you don't have control of your child at 4, you will never have control of them at 14.

2.  Always take your children to church and sunday school.  Encourage them to get involved.

3.  Pray, pray, pray and more praying.  It can't hurt;)