ple’s hearts; and as husbands
and wives we know that sharing
concerns gives a healthier perspective. Asking God’s direction
enables us to make decisions
with confidence, knowing He
directs our paths. Shouldn’t
we therefore give our teenagers the same opportunity? As a
Dad I love it when my children
ask me my opinion or advice,
I feel honoured that they trust
me. Sometimes I give them too
much advice, but I am learning
to listen more and talk less, as
their openness to share is often
about wanting a sounding board,
not a solution; that is for them to
arrive at. Then encourage them
to ‘go for it’ and support the process with whatever they need.
The more they feel loved and
that when they make mistakes,
even bad ones, we don’t reject
them or humiliate them, allows
them to express remorse and
a desire to rectify the mistake
They will know we may be angry
or hurt, disappointed etc., but if
God forgives our sins, should we
not forgive our own children?
The way Jesus lived is our best
example, as we walk in the love
and power of the Holy Spirit,
our children will be attracted to
Him. Being a teen is a rollercoaster ex-perience for many,
but it does not always have be a
battle ground, that leaves them
scarred and alienated from their
parents or from Jesus. Transitioning from teenager to adult is
not an easy process, but it can
be a joyful and exciting one.
Our role is to believe the best
through faith in Christ, and be
wary of false expecta-tions, we
do not allow what we may see as
failure as a disappointment. We,
like our children, mostly learn
from the mistakes we make ourselves, as God picks us up when
we fall, we too must learn to be
like Christ who says:
Ephesians 2:8 ‘For it is by grace
you have been saved, through
faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.’
Clive McLaren
I am 64 and married to an amazing lady called Chrissie, we are
proud parents of four daughter’s
aged eighteen to twenty-six, one
of whom is studying at St Olaf
College in Minnesota and a son
who is 27. We live on the Northwest coast of England opposite
North Wales. I divide most of my
time between writing and being
involved in commu-nity projects
that befriend and support people
with mental-health issues and
addic-tions. I give all the credit
to our amazing God who has
given us this parenting privi-lege
and through His grace and many
interventions we have a strong,
loving family with children who
adore each other.