Today I am going to share an excerpt of Chapter 1 of my book- “Embracing the Gift of Parenthood: How to Create a Loving Relationship with Your Children”.
Available: Amazon and Barnes and Noble as well as Xlibris.
This is just a taste of the chapter 1:
You are My Lifetime Gift
“This venture of life is one that as your parent and as my child we must take hand in hand. I promise to love you my child as long as the sands of time.” Me and Niki when she was little, doing what we still do today!
Chapter One
You are My Lifetime Gift
I Realize
I’ve been given the gift to be your parent and as your parent I realize this is a lifetime commitment.
| Quote: Elizabeth Stone once said: Making the decision to have a child – it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body. |
Question:
What do I mean when I say that my child is a gift in my life?
Let me start by defining the word “gift” in terms of the Webster’s Dictionary so that while we are engaged in this conversation, we have the same understanding. According to the definition “gift” means: That which is given; a natural endowment.
Perhaps the most amazing perception of our relationship with our children is that we must see parenting as a being given a gift. It is not something to take lightly. It is absolutely a divine interaction on the part of “Great Spirit”. Sometimes we are very intentional in our desire to be parents, and we make all kind of promises if we are blessed with a child. I can remember every conversation I had with God about my yearning to have the honor to bring life into this world. I prayed for the chance to be a mother. I prayed for the opportunity for my husband to have the experience of being a father. All of my life I felt that I was ordained to be a nurturer. My life’s purpose was engulfed in being with children so that I could make a difference in the quality of their lives.
I promised God that if he gave me a child, I would give that child back to Him. This is a covenant that cannot be broken. When you think of being given a gift, you think of something that you usually are excited about receiving. There are feelings of anticipation and curiosity as you try to analyze what you are being given. You wonder if it is something that you have been wanting and waiting for, a long time, but didn’t dare to mention. You wonder if it is something that you hoped for but didn’t want to get it for yourself because it was so valuable, and you didn’t know if you were worthy of it. You wonder if something happens to this gift what kind of loss you will experience. If we can ask ourselves these questions about something that is temporal and material, how expansive and deep must we question the receiving of this gift that is priceless?
Question:
When does this relationship begin between parent and child?
| Chapter One Reflection |
| Exercise: Describe the gifts you feel that a child can bring to your life as a parent and the gifts you can bring to the life of a child. |
| Gifts a child has to offer: | Gifts you have to offer: |
