Last week my daughter told me she wanted to sign up for a class that is expensive, far away, and not exactly what I would have picked for her. Unlike the unenthusiastic grunt, "I guess that would be OK" I got when I suggested a marine biology class at the beach, scuba diving, the gifted and talented camp, and a number of other things, she beamed with excitement offering up $1,000 of her own babysitting money to pay for it.
I did sign her up for the class because a parent I want to encourage her to follow her heart..... to do things that encourage growth in areas that make her and thus the world around her a little happier/better. It is easy as a parent to do for your child; picking up their toys is easier than teaching them to pick them up; cooking their meals is easier than teaching them to cook for themselves; and sometimes telling them to go to college or take over a particular business is easier than letting them discover for themselves what they enjoy. It seems easier as a parent to (try to) control our children's decisions and much harder to guide them towards following their own passion or purpose. But in reality it is working in a field that we enjoy and find fulfilling that keeps us happy and healthy. I want my daughter to discover on her own that work of any sort is a blessing, because the gifts we have mean nothing unless they are shared.
I'm not sure anyone really knows exactly what they want to be when they grow up. I don't think this class my daughter has signed up for will be her destiny (because maybe the journey is our destiny), but I do believe anything that creates such excitement in her heart will help guide her towards becoming what she is intended to be. Hopefully we never stop growing up.
Amen! I needed to read this. From the flip side, as a daughter, my mother's support has always encouraged me to follow my dreams and ambitions. Even if plans change, she is there to act as a cheerleader and not a guide. I've seen so many other mothers control their daughters as to where they live and what they'll do but they never seem happy or fulfilled. I could take all the credit for the accomplishments throughout my life but as I look back, I could have never done any of it without her there to listen, bounce ideas off of, and, ultimately, for her to take a chance on my enthusiasm for life. What a risk being a mom must be but the payoff is wonderful when you can look at a smiling child with the world at her feet!
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