3-D Parenting: Discovery - Part 1

June 24, 2007

Discovery… it implies going to a new place. A fresh look at the familiar can yield a new look, finding a whole new panorama. Let this awareness grow in you…my child is new today. They have changed. Do you have eyes to see? If you don't you may awake to find that you don't know them and you have missed treasured moments of discovery.

When I was a boy, I remember the excitement I felt as I read of explorers going off to sea to discover a new world. I wanted to be an oceanographer like Jacques Cousteau and discover new worlds at the bottom of the ocean. Or I wanted to be like Marco Polo and discover new cultures to the East. Little did I know that the greatest discoveries to be explored were found in the precious lives entrusted to me in my children. I got to rediscover the world through their eyes and through their questions, joys and sorrows. I had the privilege of being a parent.

Children are not static. As a parent, we must make room in our heart for them to grow and change or they will feel the confinement of our stagnant expectations and unconsciously "provoke them to wrath". As we continually discover their growth, their unique giftings and challenges, the walls of our expectations and directions provide safety and protection and not confinement. The joyous work of discovery is therefore the first task of parenting.

One of the great side effects of consciously moving toward your children in discovery mode is that you will find a mirror of yourself. In discovering your children you will grow in your understanding of yourself. Awareness opens the door to choice and choice is an opportunity for freedom and growth.

One of the great needs we all have and the fulfillment of which is found in short supply, especially in our culture, is a sense of who we are. When one is aware of their unique qualities, heritage and calling, they are empowered to make a difference in this world. One of the greatest gifts a parent can give their children is a truthful, loving and thoughtful proclamation of who they are and the heritage they carry. In order to do this well, we need to daily and consciously work at the discovery process. In biblical times this was incorporated into the blessing and was the most valuable asset passed to the next generation.

For these reasons and more that you are certain to find for yourself, we need to be about the business of exploration and discovery of the treasure entrusted to us, our children.

Howard Davis, the founder of Successful Family Chores, has numerous academic credentials. His greatest asset however, is his experience raising 4 children of his own! He knows first hand both the frustrations and the joys of parenting. It was his love for his family and a heart to help other families that motivated the creation of Successful Family Chores.

by Howard Davis

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