Work yourself out of a job.

When our children were small I told my Aungt Judy "I will miss them when they grow up and leave home."  Aunt Judy in all of her wisdom said, "Cindy, God does this wonderful thing he has your child turn 15 and then you want them to leave!!"  There is a bit of truth to that statement, Aunt Judy also used to say, "If you do your job right as a parent you work yourself out of a job."  That is the statement I am going to focus on in this blog.

When you bring your newborn child home he or she is totally dependent on you.  As your newborn turns into a baby, then a toddler you mark each new bit of independence with glee.  Your baby is eating baby food, can feed himself or herself, crawling, walking and so on.  Each new step of independence is celebrated and lets you know that your child is healthy and everything is ok. 

As your child gets older life gets in the way and those important markers aren't noticed and you as a parent drop the ball in training your child for independence.  You are so busy that it is easier to make your child's bed than to train your child to make their own bed.  It is easier to give them money than it is to listen to them whine that they want money for this or that; instead of making them earn their money and save money for what they want. 

As you train your child for independence you also want to train them in dependence on God.  You as a parent try to do the best you can, but you will fail at times.  You are also human which means you will die some day and if you train your child to look to God (where true security is) you will be preparing them to face life no matter what happens.

Training your child for independence takes time, effort and has to be intentional.  It may be easier to do things for yourself than to train your child to do it, but you may be training your child to be dependent on you and that may mean you will have a 40 year old unemployed child living in your house. 

I love my children dearly and love to have them visit, but I do not want them to live with us.  We are still here for them as a safety net, but we want them to be independent and they want to be independent.  Your final goal as a parent is truly to work yourself out of a job.

Proverbs 13:4 "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied."