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It’s never too late

We waited with anticipation as the last kernel popped in the popcorn bag. We emptied the contents into a bowl, grabbed our drinks, and moved into the living room for movie night.

Instead of the latest family-friendly blockbuster, this week we decided to watch old videos of the kids. The evening started well enough, but halfway through I began to notice a problem. While our daughter’s life was well documented, our son’s was not. 

As the evening progressed, he began to look like a minor supporting actor in the story of her life. Where were the videos of his first steps, or of me reading to him in his room?

I began to lament all the missed opportunities and hoped that he didn’t notice the discrepancy. As the second child, we simply didn’t give him as much attention. 

Our children grow quickly. It is hard to be a parent without harboring some regrets. We could have read more stories, gone to more games, done more family devotionals, laughed more, and yelled less. Looking back, it is easy to second-guess ourselves and feel we could have done better.

This guilt is amplified every time one of our kids makes a bad decision. Parents often feel great guilt over their kid’s lifestyle choices. We start to wonder, could their bad behavior be our fault? But we need to keep in mind that even if we could have managed to be the perfect parents, there are still no guarantees. Our kids might not make good choices. They are, after all, choices. 

God is a perfect Father, lovingly balancing mercy with justice. Yet despite His perfection, His children choose to rebel against Him all of the time. Despite our tendency to rebel, God continues to pursue us, and we can do the same with our children.

If you have regrets over your parenting or the decisions your children have made, you can take some comfort in knowing that you are not responsible for your child’s decisions. All we can do is point our children in the right direction, and it’s never too late to make amends.

Start by praying for your children. If you need to apologize to them for mistakes you have made, do so. Then find ways to reinsert yourself into their lives.

My son was a teenager when I finally started reading to him at night. Two years and 12 novels later, it’s become one of his favorite times of the day. 

No matter how old your kids are, there is still time.

Pray: Lord, thank You for the gift of this day. Show me how I can use it to draw closer to my child, and help my child draw closer to You.

If you found this study helpful, we would encourage you to consider going deeper by studying with a community of believers at your local church. For relevant small group resources, visit FamilyLife’s Art of Parenting.