The Weight of Expectations
Some of the most damaging things we place on the people we love are never spoken.
They live in assumptions.
In comparisons we never admit.
In futures we decide for them before they can ever speak.
This shows up quickly with our children.
We picture who they should become.
What success should look like.
Which choices will earn our approval.
And without intending to,
love turns into pressure.
We place a weight on small shoulders
and call it hope.
Our role as parents is not to manage outcomes
or script a life that makes us comfortable.
It is to plant values that endure.
Values that stick when pressure comes.
Principles that remain when applause fades.
A way of life that honors God in all our ways.
When those roots are strong, control becomes unnecessary.
Direction replaces domination.
Trust replaces fear.
Expectation often disguises itself as care.
But unchecked expectation teaches children to perform
instead of discern.
God does not lead us with expectations of an immediately finished product.
He forms us over time.
Corrects with purpose.
Walks with patience.
If God grants us that dignity,
we should be careful not to take it from our children.
Maybe our role is not to hold the pen.
Maybe it is to walk alongside the story
as it unfolds.
To guide without gripping.
To bless without burdening.
Our role as parents is not to manage outcomes
or script a life that makes us comfortable.
It is to plant values that endure.
Our children don’t need to fulfill our plans.
They need roots that run deep.
They need truth that steadies.
They need the freedom to follow God
without fear of disappointing us.
That kind of parenting takes faith but its a gift that never ends.
If this challenged you, share it with someone who loves deeply and is learning to trust God with the rest.
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