Making changes can be hard. I have found this to be especially true when it comes to changing my parenting style. My children have a large age gap between them. Realizing and accepting things need to change when one child has already left the nest can come with a lot of guilt. Am I showing favoritism? Will my oldest child suffer in life because I didn’t make these changes sooner? Is it fair to NOT make changes that will benefit my youngest child just because my oldest child didn’t have the same experience? While the guilt is real we need to remember that each child is different and as we grow older and gain more experience as a parent hopefully so are we.
My youngest child has shown interest for the last several years in going to church. We haven’t been a family that has prioritized going to church. Although my husband grew up in a family that went to church I did not. I would go to church with different family members and friends from time to time, but it was not a regular or consistent part of my childhood.
I was not opposed to going to church, but the idea was a bit overwhelming. I no longer live in the area where my husband and I grew up so we would have to find a new church. I am ashamed to say that I put this off far longer than I should have. I thought my child would maybe lose interest. I didn’t want to put myself out there and go to a church only to find that my child didn’t REALLY want to go after all. That is what I told myself anyway. In my next blog, I will talk about how I slowly began the process of finding a church while still being cautious and guarded about committing fully.