Wednesday, January 2, 2008

The Gift of Problems

Here I am at home counting the days until this wonderful, peaceful time comes to an end. The time called Christmas Vacation. I have been able to read at all times of the day and read whatever I like...not just professional books. I feel like I can finally get a taste of what my newly retired friend, Marsha, is feeling each and every day. The book I am currently reading was a Christmas gift from my good friend...and long-time friend, Jean. She told me it would change my life. I haven't finished it yet, so I can't say that. The book is The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall.

In the book I found this quote: "If we are not allowed to deal with small problems, we will be destroyed by slightly larger ones. When we come to understand this fact, we live our lives not avoiding problems, but welcoming them as challenges that will strengthen us so that we can be victorious in the future."

That quote was like a light bulb for me. When I see parents handling problems for their children no matter how old they are, I had always thought that was wrong. This quote gives me the reasoning behind why I thought that. I wish I could tell all parents that one piece of advice. Don't solve your children's problems. Let them fail. It is better to fail while you are there with them, than to fail when they are adults and have no clue as to how to survive a failure. It is not bad to fail, it is bad to not learn from that experience.

1 comment:

Anastasia Glass said...

I completely agree! I am a teenager myself and my mother has let me fall on my face so many times, but it's made me stronger in the end. I can't even begin to explain how many thing's I've figured out in life by making mistakes. Kudos to you for putting it out there.