Insights are short, biblical truths to equip you to lead from your strengths.
“Mom, may I go to Mike’s house?”
“Where does he live?” asks Mom. “I need to speak with his parents, too. Will they be there?”
Parenting in our ever-changing world presents all kinds of information to process to make sure your child is safe, reaches his potential, and grows successfully into adulthood.
That is why God has specifically wired you to process information in a way that can help you parent the child He has entrusted to you.
Here’s an Insight
Your need to validate information can be a parenting strength.
If you question information easily and seek to validate it before proceeding, you’re considered to be a Realistic. You’re big on knowing details and confirming them.
But maybe you have been told that as a parent, you insist on getting more information than necessary. You may have even been labeled as skeptical.
Sure – there may be times when you may need to throw caution to the wind and welcome new experiences offered to your child. But the truth is that when it comes to parenting, your need to validate information can be a strength.
One key is to using this strength effectively is to partner with others you trust. There is strength in numbers.
One Parent’s Approach to Processing Information
One parent in the Bible demonstrates the need to validate information carefully before proceeding on behalf of his child. Abraham had been promised by God that his offspring would create a great nation, placing a keen burden on the patriarch to choose wisely when selecting a wife for his son Isaac. Abraham needed to verify that the young lady would be of Jewish descent, not a Canaanite. She would need to be willing to relocate away from her own family and live in the land given to her new husband. And since he could not travel himself, Abraham needed to entrust the momentous task of wife-choosing to a trustworthy person who would be just as thorough at vetting the woman as Abraham would be himself.
Abraham’s long-time servant embraced his master’s need to verify information in the most godly of ways: he prayed for and received God’s guidance.
So when Rebekah entered the picture and fit the details as given by God, it was easy to verify her as the wife-to-be of choice – first by the servant, then by Rebekah’s father and brother, and finally by Abraham and Isaac. The result was a loving, long-lasting union between Isaac and Rebekah.
When it comes to validating information, there is strength in numbers.
Like Abraham, you may face parenting moments when much is at stake. Find a trustworthy partner to work with you. Your Realistic approach to verifying information – along with confirmation from another party – can be just what your child needs.
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