Missing the Storms ~

Missing the Storm ~

Colossians 3:21  Fathers, (or mothers) do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.  NIV Sometimes, it does me good to hear the other point of view. Recently, I wrote a blog on how good it is for everyone to get   along when you are raising children.  Last week, I had someone say to me…..”I could add to that”.  I ask her what she meant.  She looked at me and said, “Just because a person should love a child, doesn’t mean they always do.”   Um….wow.  What a humbling moment for me.  I’m over here trying to write this inspirational, feel good blog, and I’m blinded by my rose colored glasses. As a family photographer, I see this all of the time.  I’ve even had a lady tell me, “He’s just my stepson. I don’t need him in all of our family pictures.”  That was a horrible thing for her to say, but it was even worse that the biological parent allowed his son to be treated that way.   Having a blended family is hard.  I made some critical mistakes that I could go on and on about. I can’t change yesterdays.  I can say this…...I wish I had never put any person in my life above the welfare and happiness of my children when they were in such an emotionally unstable time in their lives.  No child should ever have to wonder why their parent doesn’t care about them because they are so consumed with their own selfish needs. A child should never worry about….their happiness….their stability….their emotional health….their security. They are absolutely the MOST important people in your lives.  Usually, when “kids are resilient” prefaces a statement, it means a parent is NOT putting the emotional welfare of their children first.   God, I could go on a soapbox rant here.  I could say so many judgemental things, but I’d be a hypocrite.  Been there...failed that.  Parents need to be parents when their children are children, and children should be allowed to be little.  I pray that parents, both men and women, choose their children over who they are dating/marrying/sleeping with.  Some people just don’t need to be stepparents, no matter how good they are as a partner. And creating a child doesn’t make you a parent.  But, that’s a topic for another day. Thank You for the people you put in my path.  Sometimes, I am thinking sunshine and rainbows and I’m missing the storms.