Recently I experienced the joy of my little girl, now 30, giving birth to her first child, my first grandson. Babies are an incredible gift and truly a miracle of life. Upon arrival every parent is reminded of their child’s precious innocence. We are witness to a fragile, simple beginning where all our child seems to need is food, shelter, and love. What appears easy at the start becomes more challenging and complicated as they get older. Unchanged in this journey is a parent’s love for that little bundle of joy. If anything that love just gets stronger each and every day they are part of our lives.
There is nothing is more powerful than a parent’s love for their child. While every parent does their best to provide wisdom, coaching, encouragement, and support, the only perfect, pure and lasting gift is our love for our children. It is all we have; and we give it with every ounce of energy available.
Unfortunately, many parents are currently living in the painful reality that there are times when a parent’s love is not enough. No matter how much we love, coach, encourage, support, pray, and teach our child they can and do get lost to their life choices. Nothing hurts a parent more than when they are hit head-on with that reality. As much as every parent desires to fix a mistake, solve a problem, or erase the past in our children’s life, there is little we can do to protect them from making bad decisions or to alter the outcomes of many of those choices.
In this holiday season, it is my prayer that every parent who is suffering find their peace on their journey. While it is hard to imagine peace is possible, I firmly believer it is. Regardless of what goes on around you, no matter how difficult the storm, peace can and will be found from deep within your soul.
In this holiday season, please take a moment to thank God for that wonderful gift of your child or for each of your children. Be thankful for their “presents” in your life. Regardless of where they are today, they made you the person you are – one who loves, lives, teaches, and feels. They may not be physically here with you today and their absence is a great source of disappointment and pain. But, they are also very much with you in your memories, your experiences, your personality and your personal evolution – each of which is a gift from them to you.
May you find peace in this holiday season regardless of where you heart is. May you find joy in the gift of your life. And, may you find gratitude for all of your life experiences as each has made you wiser, stronger, and more loving than you realize.
Merry Christmas and Peace!
