Saturday, December 15, 2007

Friendships

Do you have friends who are fun, comfortable to be with, and constantly point you to the Gospel? I do. God has blessed me beyond my ability to understand and appreciate. I'm asking God for these friendships for my children. If you don't have this kind of friendship, I'm praying that God will change that for you. It is a treasure to connect to the brothers and sisters of the Kingdom, fellow children of the Most High. These siblings can encourage and connect with you like no one else on this earth. When these fellow believers are also family, the connection is tremendous.

Last night was a time of food, friendship, laughter, and shopping, made possible by a few other friends who watched all of the kids. I love spending time with these people. Crissy, Kim Hill, and I went to eat dinner, which ended with Brian and Melissa Mohr joining us for some fun conversation. We went to Target, where Kim Hill confessed anew her shoe obsession. We bought toys for our kiddies, and I got a decaf peppermint white chocolate mocha from Starbucks. Yumalicious!! We had so much fun, I didn't want to come home. But, we had to get our rugrats. Can you believe that the Morgans and the Davises didn't want to keep them overnight?! Talk about selfish! ;) I am tremendously thankful for my selfless friends who made last night possible. Thank you Steve, Laura, Michael, Michelle, and Quinn.

Do you ever worry and wonder about your kids' friends? I do, and it frustrates me. My mom never trusted my judgement, my friends, or anything else. 99.9% of the time, I was honest with her, even when it got me into trouble. I would tell her what I was doing, where I was going, and who I was with. She rarely believed I was telling the truth. Her lack of faith in me hurt, especially when I needed her the most. I don't want to be that kind of mom to my boys. I know that my kids are not perfect, but I want to trust them. Bren is getting older now and spending more time away from home with friends. I don't want to treat him like mom treated me because it drove me away from her. It caused me to get into more trouble than I would have otherwise. I know that I have to be realistic and know that my kids and their friends are sinners. I don't want to assume that they are all hellions and going to jail for criminal behavior. Where is the fine line between too much freedom and too much control? How do I balance on this beam of uncertainty? Pray for us, that God will show us how to parent and release when the time is right.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I will tell you that I do worry about my children's friends. I hung around lots of people that were very bad for me. They were manipulative and mean to me and it was very disfunctional. I know my mom prayed for me all the time because she knew if she said anything she would only cause anger with me. She was incredibly patient and held back a lot. So yes, I totally see where you are coming from. But take it from someone who's been there...no matter what situation your kids find themselves they will hear their mom's voice in their head. And if you pray for them and teach them the gospel they will remember it.

And I too am very very grateful that God has brought such fabulous friends into my life. I've learned so much about life and really about myself because of the friends I have. Coming from a childhood where good friends were scarce, I am beyond grateful for the friends God has given me now in my adulthood. I think maybe, just maybe it was all worth it.

Missy said...

Oh Yes...One of my worries too.
The day we live in is a much different day than when I was growing up.
We will all pray for each other and our kids. What else can we do?

Missy said...

I just realized that you have 3 play list! I must listen to them now. Hubby is at Stomp and I am taking a cleaning break at 10:30pm.
Now I am distracted by your play list.:)

heather said...

We have to let them go? No !!! No!!!! I will not!!! Okay so maybe I will when they are 30ish and I get tired of washing there cloths. But until then I will not face it. I am in complete denial.

Anonymous said...

Kim, I LOVE you family pictures Jessica did for you. Just wanted to pass that along to you.

Unknown said...

Hey Kim...this is Brad Jones (the cousin)...I came across your blog when after you sent me the link to the pictures of the fam (which are great by the way). I just wanted to say thanks for the insight on here. You seem like a good mom who is really working to understand the balance. I like it. Look forward to seeing you guys this weekend.