It's Never to Late

When your kids are little, the dreams and plans you have for them seem pretty attainable. Get them into this school. Read the Bible with them. Do all the fun things together. Teach them about Jesus. And then, of course, they’ll just fall in line with all those plans.

It’s an easy dream. I believed it too.

Then they get to middle school, and you realize there’s something about them you didn’t really plan for.

They talk back.

They listen to their friends more than they listen to you.

There’s suddenly no time to read the Bible together.

And the child who once wanted to be everywhere you were barely wants to spend time with you.

Then comes high school.

Now they can drive, or they have older friends who can take them places. Time at home becomes fleeting, and time with you can feel almost nonexistent. And when you do get the chance to offer advice, it often feels like they don’t want to hear it, or like what you have to say doesn’t carry the weight it once did.

And somewhere along the way, it can start to feel like all those dreams you had for your family have just been washed away.

But let me tell you something: they haven’t.

We pursued our oldest through the middle school angst. We made family time intentional through the high school years when pulling away came naturally. We made church and Christian community a priority—even when it came at the expense of some of our adult friendships and social life.

We did it because our kids come first.

Not the world.

Not what everyone else is doing.

Not what we might be missing out on.

Not what’s cool or what everyone says we “need” to be doing.

We chose to breathe life into our kids and spend time with them above all else. And now, as we celebrate our senior this year, I can see the fruit of that intentional love.

I know there are parents who started with those same dreams but somewhere along the way began believing the lie that this is just how family life is now. Everyone is busy. Teenagers don’t want to be around their parents. Sports take over the calendar. Church happens when it fits. Family dinners disappear. Everyone goes their own direction.

And we tell ourselves, That’s just the way it is.

Sweet momma, that is not His best for your family. And it is definitely not His best for your kids.

You can always start over.

Read that again.

You can always start over.

Maybe your child is in middle school and you’ve already felt the drift. Maybe they’re starting high school and you’re wondering where the years went. Maybe, like us, you’re beginning senior year and realizing just how little time is left.

As long as they are under your roof, you still have the opportunity to breathe His Word, His truth, and His love into their lives.

It is not too late to put the phones down.

It is not too late to eat dinner together.

It is not too late to get back into church.

It is not too late to open the Bible together.

It is not too late to change the priorities in your home.

It is not too late to pursue your teenager when they act like they don’t want to be pursued.

It is not too late to begin again.

Before You Let Go, use the time you still have.

And if you have no idea where to start, start on your knees.

Ask Him to show you what needs to change. Ask Him to direct your steps. Ask Him where to go in His Word. Ask Him to help you rebuild what has drifted and bring those dreams for your family back into focus.

You do not have to figure it all out before you begin. You just have to be willing to begin.

His grace is enough.

Our kids are far too important to surrender any part of their future simply because we think we waited too long.

You can always start over.

“But he gives us more grace.” — James 4:6