Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Teenagers

"If we are to have significant influence of our teenage children we must have their hearts. Winning their hearts means gaining the opportunity to influence who they are, not just what they do."

This quote was found in this article that has been making a bit of buzz... good stuff in there. http://www.joshharris.com/2011/09/homeschool_blindspots.php
The article is kind of about homeschooling and more importantly about things to be cautious of doing as a parent - its not a negative towards homeschooling in my opinion. Certainly it's an article that any parent can benefit from whether homeschooling or not. But I don't have kids...so why was I reading it? The hubs sent me the link and asked me to look it over. He had gleaned some insights from it of things to be cautious of when we do become parents one day. So I read it. Good stuff. Wise words from a father who made mistakes and realized them only after his son was grown.

Anyway, back to the quote. As the wife of a Student Pastor, we work with teenagers weekly. In fact, I've been working with teenagers since I was a teenager myself. I have "kids" that I've watched grow up from middle school to now college and beyond. People can tell me I don't know what it's like to have kids of my own, and that's partly true, but I have known the heartache of trying to advise, teach, and encourage young people and seeing them reject it. I've also known the pride and joy of seeing my "kids" walk with the Lord and serve him faithfully! And in the middle of my working with teenagers the quote it true. If we don't have their hearts, all we do and say will fall silently. Until we have their heart, we will not be able to see life-change. It's hard to earn it. But it's so worth it when you can influence who they are and not just what they do. What a reminder to me to persevere with our students - to not give up and to keep working to gain their heart.

2 comments:

Candace said...

Thank you for that. It really is so true. Good encouragement. Thanks!

Rebecca said...

Thank you so much. We've had a lot of ups and downs with youth ministry recently... The reminder to persevere is especially pertinent.

Also, I'm so thankful and blessed to be one of your "kids". You've had a huge impact on my life and you still do!