How much do parents love their kids?

Crazy Randomness!

I assume a lot…an awful lot…I know I do…

I think that in general most of us parents would agree that even after enduring the most awful pregnancy or birthing experience, we’d do it all again no questions asked if that was the only way we could receive our child…

Then as the child grows we willingly undertake some of the most disgusting tasks to keep our child clean and well…ok, so maybe it’s not that disgusting when the child’s your own…but have you tried to clean up someone else’s child who is probably old enough to be toilet trained?  Let me tell you I have…and I’m someone who loves all kids, and it almost made me sick!  It’s something I wouldn’t do again in a hurry.  However if it was my child…no problem!

However this is just one task that we perform when they’re so young!  Aside from supplying basic needs, which can cost us a small fortune and take up most of everyday, what about the sleepless nights, supplying expensive medicine, and the sacrifice of personal pursuits?  Then there’s the barrage of pressure that we, other people and society can put upon us, which can diminish our enjoyment of parenting as we constantly analyse our performance…

Fast forward a few years and we enter the schooling years…whoa…what a surprising challenge these can be!  As loving parents we all want the best education for our child…but what is the best for your child?  Which type of schooling is best? Which influences do you allow? Who do you let care for your child when you cannot? And what do you do when you’re child faces a crisis?  If you haven’t experienced this, I can tell you that I have, and children are not immune.

Then add hormones to the mix and what do you get…challenging teens of course...and so on and so on.  I mean I don’t think I even need to explore the teenage years; we’ve all heard soooo much about them from other people, yet as committed parents we still go into them alongside our child ready for whatever challenges there may be…right?  Of course, because what loving parent would back out at that stage…even parents who have teens want more children…and we know they’re not crazy!  They just love being parents and love their kids. 

Loving parents are the ones who hold on through the tough times, in hope of better times to come.  They hold out for the loving smile to appear. They are committed 100%...in it for the long haul…no matter what it takes they’ll be there…even if it means standing firm and seeing through loving consequences or patiently waiting for the delinquent child to come home.  Their love isn’t fleeting even if it’s rejected…they keep giving good advice and don’t turn a blind eye…they sew values into their child and nurture their talents, even when they’re unappreciated…simply because they love.

Do you know parents like this?  Were your parents like this?  Are you a parent like this? Do you want to be a parent like this?  I know I do…

I know one parent like this, who is even better than this simple blog describes.

It’s God…the loving parent of us all…The perfect parent…the one who gave us His only begotten Son to restore us to Him.  The one who loves us despite our rebellion and waits patiently for us to realise just how much He loves us and gaze upon Him with a child’s loving smile…

How much do parents love their kids?

Melanie :)