When I became a parent almost 10 years ago, apprehensive and unsure, I looked for sound advice—biblical and practical—from just about anyone. I was counting on others’ years of experience and success to build for me a strong foundation. People gave and I took in all I could about dealing with sickness, sleep patterns, personality issues, spiritual diets, social activities, academic pursuits and, as I’m sure you know, much more. But what took me longer to receive were words from those folks who before giving me any advice (or command) had to tell me in one way or another “Been there, done that.”
Oh, this bothered me and still does. No matter how long you have been a parent, some people when they find out they have been parenting longer than you feel the need to tell you how much more advanced they are in parenting: “I’m so glad I’m beyond that stage;” “I remember that time. God bless you;” and “My kids are grown and gone, thank God” are just some of the phrases people use to knowingly or unknowingly put you in your parenting place. I don’t know if their pitting is to outshine you, seek accolades from you or is just over-exuberance about God taking them through a parenting season they just didn’t enjoy. Whatever the case, I was only able to “get over” these types of statements when God brought to mind 1 Timothy 4:12: