I just learned something new about my fifteen year old son tonight. He will gripe about doing things that he knows he believes in doing and he just wants to know what my reaction will be if he tells me he doesn’t believe in any of it. As he clearly and firmly stated that “all things church” are stupid and pointless to him I can see the questions burning in his eyes, “Do you still love me? Do you still accept me? Do you see me?”
Instead of going into lecture mode all I said was, “I really appreciate your opinion and I’m glad that you felt you could be honest with me.” I think I shocked the pants off him for he was totally speechless! He was getting ready to rebuttal, but instead was met with open arms…a pleasant surprise for him, I think.
This particular son had the FHE lesson tonight and he ended up taking the initiative to put together a very nice message that included the participation of little children. Yep, he just wanted to know if Mom saw him….and I do. I am learning to do this better each day even though sometimes it’s 1.5 steps forward and four steps back. Grateful for the sweet whisperings of the Spirit that prompted me to thank him for his honest opinion. Truly a tender mercy to our relationship. 🙂