if i listened to the world

If I listened to the world, I would have raised my children quite differently.

I would have respected their space and let them live to themselves. I guess that would mean letting them spend a lot of time by themselves searching for who they were, allowing them to isolate themselves in their bedrooms and delve into whatever media they preferred.

I probably would have just assumed that disrespect and disobedience were normal behaviors at certain ages and simply held my tongue and walked away quietly when that happened, gritting my teeth and hoping I would survive those times until they grew up.

I would have allowed them to search endlessly until they found something to follow in this world, something they would want to anchor themselves to, no matter where it brought them.

I'm glad for my rebellion. I'm glad I've always found the world's way to be unsteady and unreliable. I'm glad I've never listened to the world because...

yesterday I spent the day with two people who are my favorite company, my most encouraging companions. He is eighteen and she is fourteen, ages traditionally joked about because of behaviors thought to be "typical". But kids are not typical, they are what they are taught and what they choose to be. These two don't drive me crazy, they make me laugh with their humorous ways. They don't bring me sorrow, they overload me with joy when I see their thoughtfulness with me, each other, and others who they don't even know. I don't experience regret for choices their dad and I made in raising them, instead I am quite grateful that we listened to a Greater One and used His words as our guide.

I'm amazed by what happens when in our smallness we simply made an attempt to go against the common tide of the world's ways and followed the unpopular method of the All Knowing One.

I spent the day with the very two people who are my favorite company and I'm glad I never let the world advise me on how to raise them.