I recently delivered a message at my church about navigating the sometimes choppy waters of the relationship between parents and their adult children - Friends and Family: We're All Grown Up
It came out of my ignorance, not my knowledge.
It flowed from my failure, not my success.
It stemmed from my pain, not my progress.
And it really resonated with people.
So, for the next few weeks or so, I am going to write more about this topic.
I created a Top 10 list of suggestions for healthy ways to navigate the waters of parents and adult children.
I will start with suggestion #10 (Make the Transition) for my next post and will write about that until everything I know about it (or think I know) is tapped out. Then I'll move to #9 and so we will proceed. I don't really know where this will go, but I am anxious to see.
The one thing I want to start with is this thought, however.
Just because I taught about this topic, just because I am writing about this topic, just because I am in the middle of the reality of this topic with my own incredible adults (who are still my kids, of course) don't think that I don't struggle, and struggle alot.
I do. I struggle. A lot.
I loved this quote from Rilke, for it describes what I so often feel and can't quite find the words to say:
“Do not assume that [s]he who seeks to comfort you now, lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His [her] life may also have much sadness and difficulty, that remains far beyond yours. Were it otherwise, [s]he would never have been able to find these words.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke
Do you get that? Do not assume that because I seek to comfort and to encourage, I live an untroubled life.
That is what I most want you to know.
I am in it with you. I share your joys, and I know your pain.
We're all in this together ...