The Age of Opportunity
Read the books and magazines, listen to the radio and talk show hosts, even browse the local Christian book store and you will discover a prevailing attitude of “Teenophobia”. Parents are dreading the fact that their precious little children are one day going to become teenagers. Could it be they remember the misery they put their parents through? Perhaps all the talk about “hormones” has created a sense of inevitable despair. I am sure the horror stories of other parents have not helped the matter, and how can they ignore all the cynical well wishers who remind them how fortunate they will be if they make it through adolescence and still have their sanity. Now, isn’t that encouraging?
I, however, want to offer you some hope! These are not years to be dreaded, they are years to look forward to. Will there be challenges? Certainly. Will you experience some difficulty and frustration? Without a doubt. But we must not forget our God-given purpose during this all important time in our teen’s life. These are the years of opportunity. These are the years when we begin to see the fruit of our parenting endeavors, and though we may come face to face with some embarrassing short-comings, there is still time for the God-fearing Dad and Mom to humble themselves and make the needed adjustments both in their lives and the lives of their teens.
Every phase of parenting has its battles to fight and battles to win. First we are warned about the terrible- twos, then it’s the ever-investigating toddler, then the primary child bombards us with 5 million questions; the junior wants to do it all himself, the pre-teen is taking his cues from his friends and top it all off with the biological time-bomb… a teenager. Were you afraid of your infant or your toddler? Were you inferior to your seven or ten year old? Did you still have the upper hand when your child was 12? Then don’t be intimidated by your teenager. God made you their parent as well.
Now let me tell you what I believe to be the real phobia in all of this; it’s not the fact that we have to face our teens and deal with their problems, but rather the fact that they bring us face to face with some of our own shortcomings. The reason we have such a hard time dealing with them, is because we are often unwilling to deal with ourselves. We often say, “You can’t change anybody but yourself”. May I suggest this as a perfect place to start? If God can change you, He has a head start in changing your teen.