All Things Nu

Parenting has a way of humbling you … and amazing you!

I’m writing this post from a Starbucks just off of Central Park, in New York. We’re here for my daughter Hannah to receive an award for a poem that she wrote. She had the privilege of walking across the stage at Carnegie Hall, along with several hundred other teen writers, photographers, painters and sculptors.

There are so many emotions that swirl in my heart and head. It is one of the most treasured experiences I’ve ever had as a parent. To watch her achieve, to feel the swells of pride and the humility, to feel so gloriously happy for her after all the hard work she put in — there are no words that capture it all.

We went to a workshop yesterday, hosted by two published authors. She was there with 20 or so other award winners, whom she was able to exchange ideas and smiles and encouragement. I saw a group who, in many ways, is probably thought of as a little strange by their peers: a bit “off,” or a little too bookish. I saw them in their element, a synergy of creativity and unbounded ideas.

Stepping back for a little perspective, I saw a room full of kids (most of whom aren’t even driving yet) that represent the best and brightest of the next generation. They won’t all be artists; many will be journalists, or politicians, or teachers or leaders in industry and society.

I must say, I was greatly encouraged. Hannah and her peers are thinking more critically and creatively than most adults I know. These kids will be the shapers of thought and interrogators of status quo as soon as they are able — and probably sooner than many will be ready for. They are so much further ahead than most of my generation was at their age.

There’s a lot that’s not right about kids these days. But just the same, there’s a lot that is. If these kids are any sign, I think we’re going to be okay.

Really.

As a parent, I feel a great sense of humility and responsibility. It was just yesterday that I held her newborn body in my arms, wondering who she was and who she was going to be. It was so recently that I stood amazed at the mystery of God choosing her mom and I to raise her, to love her and shape her. Why us? Who am I? I am, once again, humbly amazed at the opportunity to steward brilliance and beauty in the form of my kids.

It reminds me, yet again, of the immense opportunity we have as parents. I have a renewed sense of carpe diem, to make my words encouraging and inspiring, to be a voice that removes the “I can’t” barriers that our kids face. Life, after all, makes it so easy to be our children’s worst critic.

I am reminded today that I am privileged. As their parent, I alone have the privilege of being my kid’s greatest supporter. I have the privilege of reminding them of their worth, when others will remind them of their faults. I have the privilege of convincing them that they can achieve, when the world will convince them that they will fail.

Lord, grant me the wisdom, the energy and the ability; and thank you for the gift of my children.