Interview With My Daughter, Part 1

So, I was at a conference in Atlanta for work and at one of the main sessions, they interviewed the children of well-known ministers about how their parents fulfilled their roles as parents...

...so, I stole the idea from them, recorded the questions and asked my oldest daughter (the youngest declined, wisely, because she still lives in this house & goes to that church) to respond to them. She did, and I'll ask the questions and have one entry every day this week.

Question 1: What do you think your parents did right?

"I think my parents are a great team. I often thought, as a child, that if one of them were to leave or die or disappear, our whole family dynamic would have collapsed. This, I still think is true.

There are two things that I think my parents did absolutely brilliantly. The first is that they were always on the same team. If my dad said no, my mom did too. They consulted each other and they worked and lived in community. Through their interactions they provided a biblical example of not only what a marriage should be, but what biblical community looks like. They never fought in front of us unless it was about something trivial like who was better at Mario Kart, and that only strengthened their connection in my head.

The most important thought process I learned from my parents though, is the idea of Grace. My father, from the stage and from his really old and tattered rocking chair, taught Grace from the beginning. He believes that Christ is the only thing necessary for salvation, that the Lord forgives and that grace is undeserved and free.

Had I only ever listened to my Dad speak on Sundays about this truth, I would have understood it, but the way my parents parented me is what helped me to really and deeply understand the concept of grace. I messed up a lot as a daughter. Not in "big" ways, but I sinned against my parents more times than anyone could count. Yet, over and over and over they forgave me. Were there consequences for my actions? Absolutely. Did it break their hearts to see me fail? Yes. Did they love me even more despite my failure? I have no doubt. I will never be legalistic because of the great Grace that my parents exemplified in their parenting of me. For that I am eternally grateful, because in legalism we all fall short."

5 more to come!