It hurts me more than it hurts you

Do you remember those days of your rebellious youth, when you would run off and do something you knew better than to do and then return for the biggest whoopin' you ever got?...Only for your mom and or dad to say, "I don't like doing this, it hurts me more than it hurts you". I used to think, "yea RIGHT!". Basically because all I could see was the hurt and not the lesson to be learned naturally. Maybe its because when we are kids we generally associate "hurt" with bad behavior and not with protection and safety.


I have a few friends and a bestie from high school are about to have their first child in a few short weeks and I am SO excited about this new time. I can remember back to when I was going to be a parent for the first time too. Man all I could see was the good in my son. Never anything bad and I just couldn't bring myself to ever think I would spank him or subject him to anything that would make him cry...Even if it was for his own good. Now that he is almost 3, aaaallll of that has changed. I realize not only was I setting him up, but myself too. My husband said it best: If I don't teach him to obey authority and that there are consequences on the other end of those bad choices, the law will one day and he could end up in jail or worse...dead. Or when he first told me he was going to take our kids to the "free clinic" when they were 10 or 11 and explain to them about STD's and teen pregnancy I was kinda resistant. But you live a little and you watch enough kids come through the ER with scabies, AIDS, and gun shot wounds and that feeling of not wanting to subject them, goes out the door. At that point, you realize, though they are sweet and little now they won't always be. They will one day be adults and make choices based on their first classroom lessons of life from mom and dad.


So, I am not at all looking forward to explaining to my son and daughter (and whomever else that may come along) about sex, drugs, STD's, prison or anything like that. And as uncomfortable as I may be about it, I know that I am helping them so much by preparing them, and not sheltering them. I know they will hate getting punished by grounding or a good ol fashioned spankin', but hubby and I decided we want to teach our kids to fear God and to fear authority. I feel this will keep them alive and safer a lot longer than sheltering them from the daily deteriorating world they will grow up in, should the Lord tarry.


Think about it...