As you grow older, I will try to teach you how to treat others and how to ask others to treat you right. I won’t be able to protect you from being hurt by relationships, but I will help you to learn and grow from them…the good and the bad.
When you are doing things that are unsafe, I will do everything in my power to make you stop. You may get sad, angry, yell at me or even hate me for this. And, I can handle that because more than anything, I want you to be safe and to live a very long, happy life.
When you procrastinate or seem to be blowing something off that I know is in your best interest, I will nag you. I will call after, pester and irritate you until you do it. I don’t do this because I enjoy it but because I want you to succeed and be happy. And, since I have more experience than you, I know these things are important and will help you.
When you go weeks without more than a 10 second conversation, and then call out to me in that tone that means you want something, I will listen. I will hear the both the words and the intent of your request and, if it is in your best interest, I will do what I can to help you out.
When you are heartbroken and you call me sobbing, every part of me falls apart. I ache more than you can ever imagine because it tears me apart to see you hurt. If indeed you have brought this on yourself, I will do my best not to tell you, “I told you so. You shouldn’t have done that.” Instead, I will feel even sadder thinking perhaps I could have spared you this pain if I had just done my job better. All I want to do is to hug you close to me and tell you it will be alright. Because, indeed, it will be alright! A wise man once said, “Everything will be alright in the end. And, if it is not alright, then obviously, it is not the end.”
When there is a lesson to be learned, I will wait until you are ready to hear it and teach it to you. I might have to teach this lesson over and over again, though. Because, sometimes, I’m not the best teacher. And, sometimes, you aren’t ready to learn. Patience is always key…on both parts.
Distance will never separate us. You could be in the next room or 3000 miles away. No matter how old you are, I will always think about you daily and hope the best for you. Whether you feel my presence or not, I will carry you with me in my heart, always.
I will be your biggest cheerleader, you hardest working coach and the one who will love you when it seems that the whole world has let you down. I will show you how wonderful you are when you feel lousy and encourage you to try harder when all seems futile. I will never give up on you.
And, I will do all this, even if you seem ungrateful or unwilling to have me be there. It may seem odd to you that it is imperative for me to do these things. It is simply because you are my child and I love you. I created you. I will love you always and in all ways! Never forget this.
Side Note: Several conversations and comments I had this week,many as my heart was breaking, inspired me to write this. But as I re-read it, I realized that this could be a letter from God to us. As a child, I couldn’t quite imagine the love my parents had for me…until I became a parent. Then, I began to realize the depth of their love. I can only imagine that the love God has for us is similar to the love we have for our children. But of course, I’m sure as His child, I just can’t fathom the depth of His love. .
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