All parents have their own pet peeves, those behaviors that they don’t like to see in their children. For my mom, that’s negativity, or what she calls “a critical spirit.” I grew up knowing not to have a critical spirit. I was taught to focus on the positive things! My family had its problems, but we were usually pretty positive and especially corny and upbeat. And loud, we’re always loud (even when it’s not so positive).
Needless to say, when I eventually moved out to attend college, I overwhelmed some of my new friends. My corny optimism was a little too much for some of them to handle. Most of my friends didn’t grow up with a mother constantly checking their “critical spirits” and found my constant positivity both hysterical and annoying. One day, when exhaustion from too much homework and not enough sleep, paired with my corny optimism, I blurted out that they all needed to get on the positivity road, chug, chug! Yes, I said chug, chug, like a train noise. I’m aware that trains do not go on the road, but on train tracks. I’m pretty sure college assignments steal some of your brain power. Anyways, that saying, “positivity road, chug, chug!” became a moto for my friend group, and an excuse to randomly tease me a bit. The point is, staying positive is powerful, and it’s powerful because it means taking the time to look for God’s goodness everywhere.
That’s your next superpower. Positivity! Life is hard. Between trying to get your fidgeting two year old dressed, help your 12 year old figure out algebra, and calming down your 15 year old who just had her heart broken for the first time, life as a parent can be absolutely exhausting! It can be so hard to keep your eyes on the positive things in life. However, if you allow yourself to be swallowed up in the negative, your kids will follow you. Suddenly you will find your entire family sucked into this deep black hole of negativity, and you will have missed your ride on that positivity train.
The Bible makes it clear that we need to be focusing on positive things.
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” -Philippians 4:8
“Set your mind on things above, not earthly things.” -Colossians 3:2
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”-Matthew 6:34
God has given us so much to think about that is good and positive. Look outside. Even my current view, which is feet of cold, white snow, hold beauty. The sun hits the site ground and it sparkles. Look at your kids, yes even the one currently whining about wanting a turn on the computer. Those kids are precious gifts from God. Your family has been give to you so be thankful for it. Those piles of laundry that never, EVER, disappear, are a reason to be thankful for clothing. There is positivity everywhere, you just have to be intentional about noticing it. When you do you harness an inner parent superpower. Your kids follow your lead. When you emphasize the bad things, so will they. However, when you point out the positives, they’ll start seeing everything in a new light.
Like I said, my parents were really good at this. When we were little and my sisters and I fought, we would be forced to sit in a circle and tell each other what we liked about each other, and it couldn’t be about their outward appearance, it had to be about them as people. Try telling your sister something you love about her two minutes after exclaiming that you were never talking to her again. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but it forces you to focus on the positive.
As a parent you have the power to influence how your children think. I’ve seen it in children and teenagers; they repeat what you say. They follow what you do. If you want children who are always looking for the goodness of God in their lives, then you must be a parent who is always looking for God’s goodness in your life, and point it out whenever you can! Take time and help them see the positive, beautiful things in life. They’re there I promise, you just have to allow God to show them to you. He will. He loves to reveal His glory and beauty in every area of our lives.
Grape Juice Faith 