As iron sharpens iron, so one person
sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
For anyone who has a child the thought of perfect parenting
elicits a range of emotions, from hope to discouragement to outright terror.
We all hope we’ll be good parents, but most of us expect to
fail in some ways. And every parent I’ve ever spoken with lives in fear of
being such a bad parent they mess up their child permanently.
I’m writing this as I look back over my parenting journey.
We have three grown sons, so the intense time of parenting is past. Sure we
still give advice—when asked—but for the most part we’re finished.
Looking back was scary at first. I was afraid of the regrets
and remorse I’d feel, from all the shoulda, woulda, coulda scenarios. But the
process of evaluation wasn’t nearly as terror-inducing as I expected and I’d
like to share some of the insights I gained.