The list continued to grow. It seemed like every few seconds another item was added. Listing things were beginning to become overwhelming, let alone thinking about it. There were physical items, social issues, emotional concerns, and so much more we put on this list. After just a few short minutes, we looked at each other, and without saying it we both knew there was no way we could accomplish all of this on our own. My wife and I couldn’t comprehend how we could do it all.
The list contained everything we believed or hoped our children would know, be, or have the confidence to do by the time they graduated from high school. As a parent, it is overwhelming, but I think that may be engrained in the process on purpose – we can’t do this parenting thing well on our own (but that’s another blog post). However, there is one area on the list that surprised us and we needed to do some work on…helping out kids process emotions.
Keeping your family from feeling like they are constantly on display or being critiqued is an exhausting and nearly impossible task.
Eliza Huie
Emotional health is a catchphrase these days and for good reasons. There are many people (myself included at times) who walk around extremely unhealthy emotionally. We are either overly optimistic and naive, always angry or just put on the face of being joyful always without a care in the world. None of these are healthy or consistently sustainable – something will break in our hearts and souls. So how do we help others – especially our kids – become healthy emotionally. Eliza Huie writes a great article entitled, “Raising Emotional Healthy Kids“. While her article uses ministry as an example, I believe the principles are transferrable to any job and situation. And the reality is our kids need it.
For Bethany and I, we have tried to work on being more emotionally healthy ourselves as a way to help our kids. She has introduced other conversations and things into our family culture to pursue this goal as well. What about you? Would you consider yourself emotionally healthy? Why or why not? What about your family? Are you seeking ways to improve the emotional health of your family? I’d love to learn from you – leave me a comment.
As always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.
Until Next Time…
Preacher on the Run... 
March 24, 2023 at 8:03 pm
Thank You,
Pastor Kenny🎉🥰
Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out; You formed me in my Mother’s womb…
Like an open book, You watched
me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you.
The days of my life all prepared before
I’d even lived one day…
From Psalm 139