You Can Do It!

     My son is 4 and a perfectionist. He comes by it honestly. But perfectionism can come at a cost-the cost of never having the confidence to truly believe you can achieve anything. Teaching this confidence is something we as parents have to do. Matthew 19:26 reminds us, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." This is a mantra parents need to adopt-especially in the early years of parenting.

     Think of how many tasks you are required to teach your children-from how to eat, potty train, be nice to others, share belongings, brush teeth, dress themselves...the list goes on and on. I am sure we parents have all heard "But, I can't do it," in a voice filled with utter defeat. I find doing things for the first time daunting and a lot of times I too have been filled with that defeat. But I know that defeat is Satan trying to tell me that I can't do something; when I know that through my love for God, it is possible to do anything. Sometimes I have to pray that God will instruct me on what to do to complete a task, and other times I just have to find the right devotional or verse that points me in the right direction.

     Here is what you can do to help your children succeed in all that they do without getting overly frustrated:

          1. Tell them everyday how proud you are to be their mother or father.

          2. Remind them that there are times when you get frustrated that you can't do
              something so you practice until you can.

          3. Teach them how to take a deep breath and try again.

          4. Pray daily with them focusing their prayer on asking God to give them the
             confidence to do whatever new tasks they may face that day.

          5. Say over and over and over again: "You CAN do it and I know this because, 'With
             God, all things are possible'!"

This article was written by Michelle Wiest.

I'm Michelle Wiest, mother to Wyatt and Scarlett. I have always wanted to be a mother and am so blessed that my desire to be not only a mom, but a stay at home mom, was able to come true. I am a former Middle School Language Arts teacher so I have always taught others to write but never really tried myself. I'm so elated to have the chance to combine my love for God's word with my love for writing.