I read an article this evening from The Weekly Challenger called The Privilege of Parenting.  It’s a very long article, and kind of hard to read because there aren’t a lot of spaces between lines or lines between paragraphs.  Still, the writer, Gregory Johnson, the President of the Pinellas County Urban League, begins it beautifully.  He writes:

The privilege of parenting is a gift that not everyone is blessed to have. It is a privilege born out of love and ideally requires love of two parents: mother and father.
The rest of the article talks about relationships between mothers and fathers and how they can work together to realize their dreams and hopes for their children.  It’s really good; I recommend you paste it into a Word document and format it so that it’s easier on the eyes, then read it completely.

Though I did read it all, my thoughts remained back on that first line.  The privilege of parenting is a gift that not everyone is blessed to have.  I had one of those moments where someone reminded me of something I knew that I knew…but hadn’t thought of in a shamefully long time.

My kids are being exposed to more and more of the world, and they are learning that not all of it is safe or happy.  They come home every now and then and look at us and realize they are lucky to have us for their parents.  It’s extremely gratifying!   But how often do we think of how privileged we are to be their parents?

It’s so easy to get caught up in the management of the chaos of family life.  And we do have to figure out how to get two of us to work, three of us to school, one to choir, one to soccer, one to cheerleading, three to youth group, homework done, and in the meantime bills have to be paid and housework has to be done.  Life with kids is crazy.  It just is.

But we’ve been given the chance to help form human beings.  We have been selected–whether you believe it’s by biology, choice, or supernatural guidance–to influence the world for generations, an influence that will be felt long after we are gone.

And more than just the privilege of influencing people, we’ve been allowed to know and love these people.  These funny, moody, stubborn, loving, whiny, smart, silly little unique humans.  Who are we to get so lucky, so blessed, so responsible, so honored to be the mothers and fathers of these people?

I don’t know.  I don’t know why I got the honor of being the mother of Abby, Sabra, and David.  But what a privilege to be a parent, to be their parent.  Wow.  Every now and then, I have to stop everything and just be grateful.  I’m a parent.  What a privilege!

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