Moms and Dads

“In the happiest of our childhood memories, our parents were happy,”                                  – Robert Brault

I was speaking with a client recently about the trauma of his early childhood where he was essentially abandoned by a mother who had gone through a series of men in her life. My client never really knew his father, and he was left to manage on his own from an early age.

He is currently struggling with how to deal with his situation. His mother takes no ownership of her behaviors, and fails to appreciate what she had done to her children. My client has overcome this trauma exceedingly well, having married, and become a successful father, husband, and businessman. He is a good dad.

Yet, he has pain over his mother’s emotional dismissal of her family, and her failure to understand how her actions caused them a great deal of pain over the years. He is left with trying to make sense of the family chaos in which he was raised.

This led to our discussion about the fact that anyone can father or mother children, but it is a special gift to be a mom or a dad. Having just passed Mother’s Day, we wrestle in our hearts and minds with those mothers who may not have been very good moms. We strive to be loving moms and dads, and a large majority of parents do their absolute best, imperfect as we are. Indeed, we are grateful for the multitudes of parents who take seriously the privilege and responsibility of being great moms and dads.  

Prayer: Bless us all as parents, and Lord, give us strength to be great moms and dads, not just mothers and fathers.