When I write slowly and purposefully, my writing is innovative---but, when I hurry up and just get it done, my writing looks like my mother's.
This happens in parenting too. Often we see things our mothers did that we want to do differently. We purpose to change, yet, when life gets hectic we find ourselves reacting a lot like our mothers did. At these moments it is tempting to say, “I give up” or “it is too hard to change”.
It is true that we often fall into the habits we are use to when we are not purposefully heading another direction. Don’t be defeated when you see old family behaviors pop up, just recognize them for what they are and move on. Moving on will require effort and a plan.
They say (I’ve heard this somewhere along the way) that if we
focus on what we don’t want to become, that is what we will become. In other words, whatever we focus on is what we will become. So if we want to make changes from what the generations before have done, we must focus on the change, not on the past.
Filling our minds with God’s guidance will strengthen our resolve. II Timothy 3: 14-16 says it this way, “But as for you, continue
in what you have learned and become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (italics added) Want to be righteous and raise children in righteousness, learn and be convinced by studying the wisdom available in the Scriptures.
With the Word of God as our foundation, we must surround ourselves with those who are heading the same direction. At times it will be difficult to find this, but even one friend or mentor can provide a lot of strength for this journey. Being picky about what we feed our mind is essential. With google at our finger tips, we can find any perspective we want to hear in just a few key strokes. So we must FIRST be convinced through God’s Word and then we must be careful to only feed that perspective.
Bank employees are required to study a real dollar bill in order
to recognize a counterfeit. We too must study God’s only Truth so we will not be knocked of course by a counterfeit.
Having hand writing like my mother is not a big deal. I am also
fortunate that my mother made a lot of changes to break generational yuck from passing down to us. Still, my journey includes continuing in the direction she started. I cannot coast or give up when I see myself doing that which I don’t want to do. Instead, each short coming must be met with a resolve to seek Truth to replace any lies that are tripping me up. Just like my signature, I must take life on slowly and purposefully in order to make it innovative.