When you miss the little years

Parents should raise children in the instruction of the Lord without provoking them.

Ephesians 6:4

When you miss the little years. There is usually more happening here than the obvious problem. Reality can be accepted without becoming your identity. Keep the event in its proper place: part of your story, not the source of your identity. You can care deeply for your child without being able to manage every part of their story. Your role is to love, guide, pray, and obey; the deepest keeping of your child belongs to God. The honest version belongs in prayer. Let Him meet you at the level where the real struggle is happening.

What interpretation are you carrying that goes beyond what actually happened? Which sentence needs to lose your agreement?

Lord, reveal where my interpretation has gone beyond what is true. Give me wisdom without panic, courage without control, and trust without pretending. Amen.