What's a Parent to Do?

(I apologize, I don't recall where I got this picture.)

Our worth. Where does it come from? How do we build our children’s self-worth and self-esteem? How do they know they’re worth loving? How do we teach them of their tremendous value?

Is it up to us to prevent them from being quitters? Is it up to us to see to it that they become all they can be, instead of settling for whatever comes along? Is it up to us to plant seeds of confidence in them so that they don’t hop from one girlfriend/boyfriend for another in an endless search for completion?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, our value, our worth is intrinsic. That means we were born with it, we were created with unfathomable value already built into us. It isn’t what we accomplish or how great we look that determines our value.

But do we believe that? No, I think not. If we believed it, it would show in how we carry ourselves, how we treat ourselves and others and in how we raise our children.

There’s far too much depression and fear surrounding us. When did we let that creep in? If we let it in so long ago that we don’t even remember, then it’s time we stand our ground and kick it out the front door with purpose and intent! Then we can take measures to insure it doesn’t infiltrate our lives and our homes again.

It would take many more words than a simple blog post to answer all of the above questions. But, maybe by admitting the answer to the first question, the other answers will begin to come to us.

Our value comes from our Creator. The very God that took the time to breathe life into us also placed unspeakable value into our lives. None of us is a mistake; none of us is destined to “settle” in life. Jesus Himself came to give us life and life more abundantly! He even said so! “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10 (KJV)

When we believe there is a God, a God Who loves us – we also have to face the fact there we have an enemy, one which seeks to steal from us, to kill us and to utterly destroy us. And he does so, simply because God loves us. If he can convince us we have little or no worth, what point is there in existing? What point is there in striving to be all we can be?

To be continued…..