A friend posted on her Facebook page an article from the Desiring God blog titled The Most Needed Peer Pressure in Christianity.
And wow, was this just the encouragement I needed. For several weeks……well months really….I’ve been struggling with trying to change one of my kids. I want him to conform to social norms. I don’t want him to stick out like a sore thumb. I want him to be a good “Christian” kid. I want him to be like me…..to like rules and follow them. I want him to be different. I want it to be easy to parent him. I want him to change. And dog-gone-it, I’m going to make that happen by gritting my teeth and digging in……how exhausting!
The last paragraph really spoke truth to my heart:
“If you are in a season of struggle with those God has called you to love, God doesn’t expect you to change your loved one. His call is to bear long in love, to endure, and to believe the best for that person while he changes them. And if you are not in that season but are friends with someone who is, weigh carefully the tone of your suggestions or encouragements. Hold your friend up as they bear long and patiently endure. Believe with them that grace works and that loving unconditionally for the long haul is the most effective tool we have for influencing change in the ones we love. May you and I rest from our attempts to change our loved ones and find refuge in God’s ability and promise to do so. And may the greatest peer pressure we put on each other in such situations be to bear in love for the long haul.”
. . . walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, (Eph. 4:1-2)
(Wendy Alsup is a wife and mom who loves math and theology. She blogs at http://www.theologyforwomen.org)
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