THE MAIN THEME: WHO DO I GO WITH?

TITLE: HANDLING DIFFICULT PARENTS

 The bible verse for today’s devotional is:  Proverbs 21:1 (NIV)

In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.

Devotional:

 Ije as she was fondling called by her friends suffered so much abuse in the hands of her parents as a child up until her teenage years.  What was the problem? She had parents who were raising her from a place of fear and perfectionism.

Her parents projected their fears of raising a young girl who will not get pregnant out of wedlock, a girl who would not bring disgrace to their pastoral ministry.  They beat and called her demeaning names, shaming her at the least provocation.

Ije’s upbringing led to so much pent-up emotions, low self-esteem, depression and self-sabotaging beliefs. However, in all these ordeals she never for once, dishonored or disrespected her parents though she resented them. Eph 6:2 tells us to honour our father and mother unconditionally.

Our text for today assures us that God has the heart of our parents in His hand, when we present them to God, he steps into the situation to help and guide us. Try the following tips in handling the situation:

Acknowledge and validate your feelings of hurt to your parents. This requires the skill of effective and open communication. Remember the place of honor while sharing your concerns. Having a conversation is no guarantee that you will be heard or the issue fixed automatically.  Regardless of how it goes, learn to extend grace to your parents, while guarding your heart from accumulating the pain.

 Here are a few reflective questions:

• What can I learn from this experience? How can I grow and develop as a result of it?
• How can I communicate my needs and boundaries clearly and assertively?
• Are there other difficult people I must relate with?

Let us pray

Dear Lord, thank you for your word to me today. I know that my parents are an integral part of my life, helping us to understand and extend grace to one another. Grant us to live and love one another and I receive grace to honour them unconditionally. I pray in Jesus name. Amen

 Please say these words of affirmation after me: Say them mean, own them and live them--

• I am worthy of peace, respect and kindness
• I am in control of my emotions and responses, I am calm no matter what and
• I am grateful for the challenges that make me stronger.

Do enjoy your day dear ones, I’ll see you tomorrow.

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