Oh how the times have changed. And so has my perspective (obviously). Actually, I did start a blog, before this one, back in 2010, and one underlying intention was to get attention… I’ll be honest about that. I shutter when I go back and read some of those posts every now and then :-).
I started Confessions Of A Parent in September, 2012. The idea was actually born a year and half earlier during a support group meeting (that I didn’t want to be a part of at all! You can read about that experience here.) Beyond all of the reasons I started a blog about parenting, the biggest was hope. I realized how hopeless parenting, and marriage, and family can feel at times. But when you have hope, you can keep moving, and find strength. I also recognized a big need for parents to just be able to laugh at times. To read something and say, “Ah, I’ve been through that with my kids and I know how funny that can be!”
But hope and humor were just the beginning. Parents worldwide, needed a voice. And they needed to know they’re not alone on the parenting road! My reasons for this blog became very simple. Really, they’ve become hills that I’ll die on.
HOPE.
We all need hope. Hope is what gets you up in the morning, the day after you’ve said goodbye to a loved one. Hope is what gives you the strength to face your biggest challenge or move forward in-spite of your greatest fears. Hope is woven into the very fibers of our souls, waiting to be awakened.We need hope to survive. We need hope to grow, even when the outlook is bleak.
When your child is throwing a huge tantrum, you haven’t slept in days, or weeks, or your teenager is making awful choices, it seems hopeless! You want to quit. But if you’re breathing, and there’s a heartbeat in your chest, there’s hope! Tomorrow’s a new day.
A VOICE.
This has become so huge for me in the past month. My wife wrote a post a few months ago called Don’t Save My Child, and it went viral (Over 22,000 views across 12 countries in a week!). Why? Because in the post she voices something that so many parents (especially adoptive and foster parents) have struggled with in raising children with special needs or from difficult backgrounds. The comment section of the post was what really fascinated me.
People poured out their hearts by the paragraph! Seriously. We had comments from people saying things like, “This is exactly what I’ve been trying to say,” or “Thank you for putting my thoughts in a post! This is what I’ve tried to get my son’s school to understand!”
People found a voice. That moves me!
NOT ALONE.
There’s something unbelievably healing in finding out you’re not alone, isn’t there? The isolation we feel when we are struggling or hurting deeply is all-consuming. We feel like no one else in the whole world could be going through what we are going through and it’s lonely. But when you discover that someone else hurts the same way you do, or deals with the same struggle, or has made the same mistakes that you have, it’s healing. Because…you’re not alone.
There is more healing in discovering this than there is in attending a class, or reading a self-help book, or seeking counseling. In parenting it’s easy to feel like you’re the only mom or dad who’s son throws embarrassing tantrums in public. Or your daughter is the only kid in the world with a special need like hers. But the reality is, you’re not the only one. There are thousands of parents who feel the same way you do, and struggle the same way you struggle. You are not alone!
I said in the very first post I ever wrote for this blog that this blog does not exist to be a “How-to” on parenting, it’s exists to be an “I know, I’ve been there” on parenting.
RECLAIM.
With all of my heart I believe in families! I believe the family unit is the strongest, most influential, unit in the world! When a family is strong they can accomplish anything. Unfortunately, though, today’s family is suffering. It’s time for parents to step up and fight for the heart of their family! It’s time that husbands and wives stop fighting against one another and start fighting for one another! It’s time to reclaim the family. I challenge parents to intentionally, unashamedly, and boldly fight to the death for the heart of their family. This, I believe, will change the world as we know it!
Someone once asked me if I made money off of Confessions Of A Parent. While that would be nice, and possibly something in the future, I don’t make a dime off of this blog. In fact, I lose money on this blog every month. And, I’m completely fine with that. Because, reaching parents with a message of hope, and humor, and life stories, is worth more than any amount of money could buy!
Being a voice that simply lets hurting parents know, “It’s okay, I know what you’re going through, I’ve been there too,” cannot have a price placed on it.
What are some things that help you find hope? What else would you like to see posted on this blog that could encourage parents?
