A recent article in the BGC World written by Kay Swatkowski spoke about how we tend to lavish unrealistic expectations on ourselves in relation to our parenting. Specifically, she spoke of a time when she remembers promising to herself and her new baby that she would be the perfect parent and the child would have the perfect childhood:
"I will play dollies with you. I will push the swing. I will read to you every book that’s ever been written. I will do your homework with you. I will bake brownies. And I will never be cranky. I will never lose my temper. And I will never be impatient."
As she goes on to explain, these expectations are unrealistic and unattainable. She quotes Gary Thomas from his book, "Sacred Parenting, where he said: "I was expecting my parents to loe me the way onlyGod could love me. And I was expecting to love my children the way only God could love them."
As Kay says: "We are not God. We need to adjust our expectations."
Even though this does apply to our parenting. I believe this applies also to our lives in all of our roles: husband/wife, employee, and serving in church. Not only that, but it applies to those around us: our kids, our spouses, our employees, our bosses, our fellow Christians, our neighbors, etc. No one is perfect. We must let God be God and adjust our expectations by incorporating grace where criticism once ruled the day.
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