Sunday, September 20, 2009

parenting in the pew

We had a little situation at our house this weekend with a teenager. Imagine that. We didn't think we were getting the full story but it was late and we decided to call it a day and went to bed.

I decided to try to handle this situation in a low-key fashion. How was I going to do that? Well, I decided that the good Lord could help this situation resolve itself. It was off to church as usual and just as I had envisioned the teenager mentioned above was feeling convicted as she sat in the pew. She passed me a note (during the sermon) and it confirmed what Lawman and I had suspected. Yep. Just as I had suspected the lie had been festering since last night and finally was more than she could handle.

So she and I passed notes back and forth for about 15 minutes of the sermon. My mom would not have approved but I decided God probably wouldn't mind us working out a little family problem in His house. He knew that if we did, we would have peace among us before we left. I knew He'd be in favor of that.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

i believe you did the right thing. and, who doesn't write notes during church once in a while!! this was very touching. you are an awesome mom!

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

Amen to that! Sometimes we need to communicate with our kids in ways THEY are comfortable with. It's better than not communicating at all...and God is way more in favor of repentance than legalism! God is good..

Sarah H. said...

Uh-oh. I'm glad you resolved it! She's a good kid and you're a great mom.

Anonymous said...

hehehe, been there done that. I love this. So many time this has happened and come to fruition in church. The trouble I have as a mom is keeping my pie hole shut until church and letting everything work itself out....I tend to press and press to get it all over and done with in MY time instead of Gods :)

Anonymous said...

Why is it that teenagers eventually have to tell the truth.

I'm sure God would love your choice of parenting style. Conflict-free and with endless love. Well done.

Nancy said...

Thanks so much for your sweet words and encouragement. Like Cindy mentioned, keeping my pie hole shut until God does his work is the hardest part.

Anonymous said...

i am still learning that pie-hole shut bit.

but i do find that time spent defusing and reflecting makes for more peace.

i love that she passed you a note. i think you just got a blessing there, right there in the pew.

Jenni said...

Sounds like the perfect place to work it out to me. It shows she's been listening to what she's being taught at home and at church. Everyone makes mistakes and we all need forgiveness.

Wren said...

I love that you were able to work it out, in church, with a few notes. How sweet.. Sometimes things are just easier said with a note.

JC Mom said...

Wow- Just leaves me wanting the juicy details! :) You are a great mom and very inspiring to those of us who aren't quite to teenager-dom yet...