What will be your legacy with your children? In other words, when they are grown up, what will their memories of their childhood be and how will they characterize their lives under your parenthood? What do you remember about your own parents? Whether for good or bad, did you turn out like them? Are there things you either need to change or wish you could have changed?
I ask these hard questions of myself a lot. It’s too late for me to change anything about the way I raised my children because my nest is empty. Maybe yours is too. If you have children, think about these questions and decide if you need to mend any fences or change anything about your words, actions, or disciplinary methods. If you are happy with the answers to these questions then keep up the good work. If not, then implement whatever changes are necessary, but don’t beat yourself up. Just pray about it and move forward.
If it’s too late, there are other facets to your legacy that you can work on. You have friends and coworkers. You even have those adult children and maybe even grandchildren. Have you damaged any relationships among any of these? Mend them and move forward. Build a loving, nurturing, lasting legacy that will reflect the values and standards of Christ. Start today!
Ephesians 6:4 (AMP) - “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by showing favoritism or indifference to any of them], but bring them up [tenderly, with lovingkindness] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”