Article January 5, 1998 Issue

Butting heads with your kids?

If you'd rather be a family of "sheep" than "mules," the change begins with you.

By Clifford Kapps Eriksen

Do you have any mules in your barn giving you a hard time? Recently some dear friends spoke to me about their teenager, who appeared to them to be acting in a manner often associated with a mule—determined, stubborn, self-willed, and resistant to guidance. As I listened to their concerns, I was prompted to say to them, "Replace that mule with a sheep!"

I was thinking of a hymn entitled "'Feed My Sheep,'" which emphasizes the qualities essential for spiritual growth and healing: innocence, gentleness, obedience, willingness to follow the "Shepherd" who cares for us. Part of this hymn—the words were written by Mary Baker Eddy—acknowledges the fact that the Shepherd, God, is able to

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