Have you heard people say things like…

“Oh, you thought it was the terrible 2s!”

“She just turned 13? You better buckle up.”

“You have teenagers? I’ll pray for you.”

I think that often times the teen years are looked at as a terrible 6-7 year period that we just pray we come out of with breath left in our lungs!  I want to encourage you not to anticipate rebellion.   I think parenting teen stories are much like labor and delivery stories.  The ones you hear are the absolute worst examples of the experience and not the norm.  But we buy into believing that rebellion is simply an unavoidable fact of adolescence.

Anticipating rebellion in our kids when it doesn’t exist is no better than denying it when it does.

I have the incredible opportunity to be around some incredible young people.  I know of three sixth grade girls who started a Bible study during lunch in their public school.  I know college students who are student athletes, A-students, and maintaining sexual purity until marriage.  I know of middle school young men who get up early to have a quiet time in the mornings.  I know of high school students who for their senior project chose to take a stand against abortion.  I know of a college student who went to a Division One school to play football and received several serious injuries that ended his football career.  But because he is a leader and a fighter, he changed his sport to track and field and is competing again.  I know teens who have gone on mission trips and seen miraculous healings, and I know of a middle school girl who prayers for the salvation of her friends every night.

Rebellion in our teens is not certain or to be feared.  Parenting is a beautiful opportunity for us to see the favor and blessing of God first hand.  Our time with our children is a gift and is oh so fleeting.  Don’t waste the precious moments you have with your kids living in your home paralyzed with the fear that they will fall.

Everyone makes mistakes and our children are not the exception.  But we simply pick them up, dust them off and begin again.  Isn’t that what the Father does with us?

When we get right down to it, parenting isn’t about the response or obedience of our children.  Parenting is about our obedience to Christ.  When we submit and listen to his direction and then do the things He speaks to us, our children will then make their choice on how they will respond.  But the outcome is up to Him.

Fear not.  Parenting adolescents can be one of the most fulfilling and precious experiences of our life.  The key is to follow in His footsteps.

Love to you,

Buy Candy’s book Rescue here! 

You can swim confidently into the murky waters of parenting teens! Rescue offers wisdom, encouragement, and practical applications. Working with a group of young “Lifeguards” throughout the book, Candy Gibbs gives struggling parents the life preservers they need to rescue teens from a drowning culture. With Biblical insights and Candy’s own creative techniques, Rescue is the “Noah’s Ark” of parenting books, ensuring that today’s teens will carry on a legacy of godliness to generations to come. Find out more!