Can I just admit this: I am not in control of my kids.

I cannot force them to be a certain way 100% of the time. They will not be silent, serene. They will not add a sublime experience to the world, and I will not ask them to live a  rigid, totally controlled life.

Why?

Simple – love.

Photo Credit: Ryan Lilly

I love them too much to expect them to be reigned-in and tightly wound all the time.

Let’s be clear that we give them boundaries. We tell them no. We ask them to stop. I furlough my brow. We set the timer. This is not a free-for-all. There are parameters.

Parameters are needed, necessary, loving. But if there is no age-appropriate freedom, no fluid grace, there is no love because freedom is essential to love.

My kids are loud. This is a fact. Another fact: it’s annoying. But it’s not wrong. It’s not a character flaw.

My kids are busy. This is a very understated fact. It’s also exhausting and overwhelming. But it’s not wrong. It’s not a character flaw.

The truth is that I could do more to try to control them, corral them, suppress them. But when my Father gives me complete freedom to demonstrate his love, I suppose I better take my cues from him.