In a perfect world, we would all be able to look back on only pleasant childhood memories. Unfortunately, that's not always the case; too many of us come from difficult childhoods where life was not always pleasant and family was not always loving. While I can honestly say there were good times as I was growing up, I can also say there were many unpleasant times. I think I never really felt that I was truly loved. My loved me, of course, but they didn't show it--I think I was just supposed to know. My father was probably the one who was able to show love the most openly; however, he was a long-haul truck driver and was often gone for days at a time. My mother was probably too busy trying to keep things together to be to demonstrative in showing tangible evidence of love.
I don't mean to be critical of my parents (I know it sounds as if I am); no doubt I made my own share of mistakes as a parent. Thus, the theme of this blog. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every adult could look back and remember their childhood fondly? Perhaps, though, our parents knew something that many parents today don't--it's impossible to make every child happy all the time. The reality is that too many children today don't really know how to cope with difficult situations because they've never been in one. Parents try to shield their children from all difficulty when it is the difficult situations that build character and critical thinking skills. Lessons learned in difficult childhood situations can often help deal with difficult adult situations.
Jesus doesn't shield His followers from difficulty just as He wasn't shielded from difficulty. We can all learn from His examples. He constantly exhibited grace under pressure. He showed us how to handle adversity. He was unaccepted, so we could learn how to cope when our friends and family reject and abandon us. He suffered to show us a more excellent way. So maybe, in a perfect world . . . all children would learn to develop strong character through difficulty.
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