There are times I have swapped recipes with good friends, yet even that meal doesn’t look the same as theirs. I might change an ingredient to fit our family's taste. Even if I follow the recipe to the letter the rest of the meal may be different. They might ALWAYS serve salad with that meal, while we choose to have cooked green beans.
Although I think it would be impossible to have exactly the same meal, even if the food was the same the experience would be different. Some families set a table with table cloth and cloth napkins every night. Other families prefer paper products for quicker clean up.
Beyond the table preparation there would be the conversation. One family may linger thirty minutes to an hour while discussing all of their days, while another family may speed through the food in ten minutes so they can move on to the next thing.
For each example I give there are as many more possibilities as there are families out there. Yet, as long as the family is fed, most any option is viewed as acceptable. Is one way better than the others? Perhaps some menus are more nutritious and perhaps some families connect better and use the meal as more than just filling their tummies. But, there certainly is not one best way to do supper.
I would say the same is true for parenting. Even if we follow the same school of thought, our application is going to look different. It is God’s creating us each unique and there being two unique parents guiding each home, that makes it impossible for any of us to look exactly alike.
Just as each time I have a friend work with me in the kitchen I learn a new skill or short cut idea, we need to be open to learning from each other.
When someone has a recipe for parenting you really love, copy it. Don’t be afraid though, to mix in a few different ingredients to better suit your family. Serve up this new recipe at the table of your home. Keep your personal flavor and unique customs.
I am not saying all parenting is equal, just that we cannot expect our parenting experience to look exactly like anyone else’s. Seek to raise children according to God’s nutritious Truth. Borrow and share recipes. Encourage and lift each other up, while being the family God made you to be!