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Jul 15, 2026 06:00am

Parenting Isn’t Meant to Be Done Alone

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Before you read further, I want to share something with you. I don’t consider myself an expert on parenting.

I didn’t become a mom until 2012 when I was blessed with a wonderful 17-year-old son (15 when his dad and I began dating). Along the way, I’ve tried to love him well. I’ve tried to love my nieces and nephews as if they were my own. And for the children I’ve taught, discipled, or welcomed into our home, I’ve simply tried to love them with everything I had.

So if you’re wondering what I could possibly have to say about parenting, I understand. But here’s the good news: today’s encouragement isn’t based on my experience. It’s based on God’s Word. In fact, the apostle Paul—who wasn’t a parent either—had something important to say about the relationship between parents and children. Let’s see what the Lord has to teach us.

When that soft, tiny bundle is placed in your arms for the very first time, joy swells within your heart. This precious, beautiful soul is so loved, and you can’t fathom anything other than love and sweetness between the two of you.

Then one day, it feels like you blink, and they’re grabbing for their keys, storming out the door, and driving away.

Relationships with our children are beautiful, aggravating, loving, gut-wrenching, sweet, and worrisome all at the same time, aren’t they?

Whether you’re a new parent or a seasoned one, there’s something we all know: there is no handbook that says, “This is a step-by-step guide on how to parent your child, and their response will always be positive.”

While that doesn’t exist, we do have guidance. And it comes from someone who had a great deal of experience dealing with wayward children.

**Colossians 3:20-21**

*”Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”*

In this letter to the believers in Colosse, Paul gives instructions about what our relationships should look like. First, he addressed marriage. Then he turned his attention to parents and children. Paul urged believers to remember what the Lord says about love, relationships, and parenting.

It’s a two-way relationship.

Children are to give their parents honor, respect, and obedience. But parents are called to give as well—not just rules and discipline, but encouragement, patience, and support.

This is life.

It’s full of ups and downs, twists and turns. But we aren’t just along for the ride. As parents, it’s our responsibility to help our children navigate them. We help them make wise decisions, encourage and support them, lovingly correct them when needed, and remind them they are deeply loved.

It’s impossible to do that apart from the Lord.

We love because He first loved us. God is love. Without Him, there is no true love.

When our hearts are filled with Christ…
when our minds are fixed on Him and His truth…
when we seek His will above our own…

…the love He has poured into us overflows into everything we do.

Including the way we love our children.

How much easier is it for a child to obey when they know they are deeply loved and that their parents’ guidance is for their good?

The same is true for us as children of God.

I’m not saying parenting is easy because you’re a Christian. That’s laughable. Parenting is one of the hardest callings God gives us. But I am saying we don’t have to do it alone.

Whether you’re married or single and raising children, Christ is our source of wisdom, strength, patience, and love. He doesn’t promise to remove every hardship, but He does promise to walk with us through the deepest valleys and rejoice with us on the highest mountaintops.

So maybe that’s the question we all need to ask ourselves today:

Is Christ truly at the center of our parenting? If not, what needs to change today?