Don't Be Too Hard On Your Parents

As Father's Day was this past weekend, I had the chance to think a lot about parenting. Now, I know parents can seem difficult at times, but you have to look at the world through their eyes sometimes to better understand who they are and why they make the decisions they do. 90% or more of the time, parents are simply making decisions they believe are in the best interests and safety of their child. We often forget that. Our sinful nature pushes us to think we should be able to have and/or do whatever we want when we want. Society also encourages this mentality and that doesn't help!

I was fishing in Canada last week and watched a cool parenting scene unfold before me. As we fished in a back bay, a mother moose and her newborn moose came into the bay to presumably get a drink and to cool off in the water. They had gotten into the water a short ways when the mother noticed us in our boat. She watched us closely as she turned around and turned her baby around and led the two of them out of the water and back into the woods. Now, I am thinking, the little moose wouldn't have minded staying in the water a little longer based on his apparent playfulness that we observed. However, the little one obeyed the mother and walked out of the water right away with her.

So, was the mother being mean? Did she make her baby get back out of the water and into the woods where it was almost 90 degrees and full of flies just to be mean? No, she sensed potential danger and moved to protect her young one. Were we a threat, no. But Mother Moose had no idea if we were or not and could not take that chance.

The same thing happens with your parents. What you want or want to do may not actually pose a threat to you, but if your parent is unsure, the most loving thing they can possibly do is say "no" even though to you it appears mean or unfair. So this summer, give your parents a little break when they say "no" to something. Instead try thanking them for loving you enough to actually care and for looking out for you.