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Parenting

As a parent, do you remember how you felt when you brought your first child home from the hospital?

Overwhelmed maybe? The nurses were gone! No one came to take your child away for awhile so you could rest. The entire responsibility of taking care of your little one was now on your shoulders!

But you made it; right? You were not as clueless as you thought.

In a way, your entire lives before this baby had prepared you for this time. From watching your parents and watching others, you were absorbing more knowledge and parenting skills than you ever imagined. Some of those skills you incorporated and used as models for yourselves. Others you discarded and made new ones. We train others the way we were trained, but often we will make adjustments and corrections, if we think that is necessary. Imitation is the way all children learn.

The same methods are true in our spiritual lives. What we believe and live in our everyday lives is a reflection of what we were taught and accepted on our own. Yet, it is up to each of us to study God’s Word and make the right decisions for ourselves. What we live everyday will be a mirror of what we believe. What kind of “parenting” skills do you portray? Just remember, someone is watching! Actually, more than you might think!

Audrey B. Unruh is a local columnist, who can be reached at zwiebach@charter.net

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