Article August 11, 1997 Issue

The holy experience of parenting

Molly Mary Virginia Larsen

RECENTLY I heard a clever anecdote about children. A workman was laying a beautiful concrete sidewalk, and all the while he was telling his friend how much he loved children. Then the next day he discovered to his horror that some neighborhood children had run through the cement before it had set, leaving their foot marks to harden. His friend responded to his disappointment by saying, "Hey, I thought you said you loved children." The first workman replied: "Well, I do. I love them in the abstract, not in the concrete." I may not be the only one who can relate to his sentiment!

I've found parenting my three small children a growing experience, to say the least. Every day is different. Some days are a lot of fun, but others include a great deal of yielding my will to the Christ, Truth. Hands down, I think the most effective preparation for each occasion is prayer, coupled with the inspiration I've gained from reading the Bible and Science and Health each day. And, it's when I accept that God, our ever-loving Father and Mother, is parenting both my children and me that I feel the freedom that should be part of the entire holy experience.

Let me give you an example that illustrates the sense of freedom I felt through yielding to God. One of my preschool children and I had been caught in a tug of war for quite some time. It seemed we both had a stubborn streak to overcome. Every time I said something like, "It's time to put on your coat," he would say, "No." Then I would say, "Yes!" And he would say "No!" Then I might help him put on his coat, and he would take it off, and so on.

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