Parenting…

It is my observation that most parents are proud of their children—or at least would like to be proud of their children. As a parent myself, few things have given me greater satisfaction than observing my children becoming mature, responsible adults who seem to be successfully navigating life both independently and in community with other people. While I would like to take at least a little credit for contributing to their success, it did not take me very long to figure out that if God left it to me and my own devices to bring them to adulthood they were in big trouble.
I remember like it was yesterday, the day I stood in my driveway watching our four little boys test out the skateboard ramp I had just built for them, realizing there was no way I could possibly protect them from every possible danger and mishap that they would face as they grew up—not to mention the ones I encouraged them into—aka previously mentioned skateboard ramp. It was at that point that I essentially turned them over to God — offering Him whatever little help I could offer in the process. I believe God has been faithful in answering that prayer — despite the times when I failed to keep my end of the bargain. As a result I would gratefully report that so far, the joys of parenting have outnumbered the griefs by a considerable margin.
Today’s proverb begins a section of what I would call Solomon’s life observations.

1 A wise child brings joy to a father;
a foolish child brings grief to a mother.

Proverbs 10:1 (NLT)

These are not so much promises for us to claim, as they do not guarantee a result. They are rather observations or general principles of how humanity tends to operate. Solomon observed, perhaps from personal experience, and/or the experience of others, that wise children brought joy to their parents, while foolish children often caused their parents much grief. That premise continues to be true to this day. What Solomon does not address at this juncture directly is what it is that causes children to pursue wisdom or foolishness. While the role of parents certainly has an influence in this, there does not seem to be any particular formula that guarantees the desired outcome.
It has been my observation that there have been cases where parents appear to have done nearly everything right in regard to raising a child, and the child still chooses to pursue foolishness, while in other cases, parents have given a child every reason to pursue a foolish and destructive lifestyle, yet the child chooses to pursue wisdom. Admittedly, these types of cases are not the norm. In most cases when children are encouraged to pursue wisdom by wise parents, they ultimately choose that path, and typically children raised by irresponsibly foolish parents, tend to exhibit the same foolish characteristics. The point being, God can, and does occasionally override what we expect to be logical outcomes, and though we often scratch our heads in frustration when these things happen, I believe He always has a reason that at some point (perhaps in eternity) will become evident to us regarding what His purpose in it is.
Parenting was not designed to be easy, but it is designed to be very rewarding when we follow the guidelines God has given us to the best of our ability and trust Him with the results. One of the keys to successful parenting is remembering that as much as we would like to be in control as parents, it is God who we must trust with the control of our children. When we view our children as belonging to God (as we should with everything we are blessed with) it changes the way we steward the brief amount of time He gives us with them to allow God to use us to guide them toward the path of wisdom, and away from that “Folly” character that is seeking their destruction.