I watched a movie, A Fortunate Man,  on Netflix the other night. I had a busy day so I fell asleep the first time I watched it. I tried again and the second night I finished it. A Fortunate Man is an excellent movie and very thought-provoking.

The premise of the plot is a boy who was born to a “hellfire and brimstone” preacher. This preacher had a slew of children. The majority of his children respected his authority with the exception of one son.  He was different, he was a genius.

He had been accepted to an engineering university and had developed an elaborate plan to harness wind and sea energy to make Denmark energy self-sufficient. The problem was that he was too proud to allow anyone to assist him with this project.

This got me thinking about how we parent our children. This young man had a gift from God. He was brilliant. Yet, instead of supporting him in his brilliance, his father tried to stifle him. His father did not want him moving away from the country and into the big city. He forced religion down his throat. This was the start of a problem with pride.

I believe this young man held pride in his heart as a means of survival.

I also believe if he would have been given love as a child, instead of condemnation, he may have succeeded with his vision.

I have pondered and reflected on my children and how I raised them. They are all extremely successful adults, much more so than I was at their age.

I think it may be because I parented differently than my parents did. https://singleparents.dfwhostingwebsites.com/budget-hotel/

I was raised in a very critical environment. My mother was consistently screaming at all of us, telling us what we were doing wrong. I rarely received praise even though I was a good student and a kind child.

I learned to hide my tears because it didn’t matter if I cried.

When my children cried I was crushed. I immediately tried to resolve the issue even if it had been something that they had done wrong.

I was not perfect by any means, but I loved my children. I felt it was more important to show my love to them than to constantly tell them what they were doing wrong.

The Bible is a bit light on parenting advice.

One of my favorite verses is Matthew 17:5 “But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” 

It is apparent that God loved His one and only Son, should we not do the same?

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