By The Grace of God Let Me Raise You Well

Recently, I found out some rather disturbing news about a relative of mine. I don't want to go into details, but I will share how I felt upon hearing it. Heartbreak, bewilderment, confusion, and when I watch my daughter's innocent, sweet face and I wonder, will she break my heart the same way? If she makes a wrong turn in the crooked road to a life well-lived, will her wrong turn be all my fault? Am I making mistakes even now?

I know that parents can do everything right and still have an unhappy child. I know adults who came from messed up families and by the grace of God they turned out well. Is it all luck of the draw? The temperament that your child is born with will make them or break them? Do we as parents, have so little influence in how they turn out? I'd like to think that we, as parents, are everything in relation to how our children will turn out, but I'm not so naive to truly believe that we are the end all and be all.

What is the right formula? I don't know. I just hope that I can muddle through this whole parenting thing, with Mina and our future other children coming out in the end of it all, happy and for the most part, unscathed.

When those pivotal moments come in my parenting journey, let me always listen to that still, calm, inner voice to guide me.