I recently heard the most brilliant thing on Twitter today: "The secret to being happy = lowering your expectations." And so, I've come to understand that while it's OK to strive for perfection, you'll never make it.
"Parenting Is Your Highest Calling" and 8 Other Myths That Trap Us in Worry and Guilt by Leslie Leyland Fields deems itself as a "liberating look at what God most wants you to know." If this is, in fact, what God wants me to know as a parent, then I'll do much better by believing it.
A combination of wisdom and grace, Leslie's book looks at 8 myths that she has learned to discern throughout her years of raising 6 of her own children:
#1 Having children brings happiness and fulfillment
#2 Nurturing your children is natural and instinctive
#3 Parenting is your highest calling.....
And so on and so on....
Each myth is truly freeing, once you learn to identify it, and I was impressed that the book wasn't preachy -- only encouraging. Built on Biblical principles and a method of positive thinking and understanding of what "parenting" really means, this book helped me to "not be so hard" on myself. Truly.
Parents need to know that there is only so much they can do, and learn to let go of the rest. We all love our kids, and Leslie gives us permission to be human. (Because, after all, human is how God made us in the first place.)
You can purchase "Parenting is Your Highest Calling...." at Amazon and most other book retailers. (Check out Surprise Child if you like Leslie's style!)
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