“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;”

As an undergrad, I had a professor who liked to say, “You have to get a license to drive a car, but any idiot can have a baby.” Harsh, but true. Parenting is not for the timid. Having a child is easy, but being a parent is hard. It can be heartbreaking, disappointing, frustrating, and often leave one feeling dejected and like a failure. In my decades of working with junior and senior high students, I started out telling parents ways to help their teens succeed. Later, it became much more about helping them just survive. Getting safely through the teenage years and becoming productive adults is a fine goal. However, in God’s Kingdom, it is okay to desire more. Wisdom and understanding are two of the great gifts of walking with God. I would be bold enough to say there is no way to effectively parent, both in the earthly and spiritual sense, without these two gifts from God. Facing the incredible challenges that come against families day in and day out, without deep wisdom that goes beyond what this world has to offer through all its self-help books and podcasts, I would argue it can’t be done. Our kids need us, even as they grow and have families of their own. We are still needed to lead and guide. Today, live with understanding. #BeTheEdge

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,” Ephesians 5:15 NIV