Well, I never thought it would come, but yes! The teens have hit the family! I have never felt so helpless like the last week or so. The sudden irritations, the quiet smile, the tears out of nowhere, and for no apparent reason. So I reevaluate every situation about 10 times before I speak and I pray more often to cope with the feelings and emotions that the 12 year old body is overwhelmed with.
A very good book to read is "Preparing for the adolescent years" by James Dobson. It is written for the pre-teen growing into a teen and it is very encouraging. I read it before I gave it to her. And when I did give it, I could tell it perhaps was a little too early. But now we can openly refer to it and then discuss issues more easily.
I then one day, I took her shopping. Only thing is the almost 2 year old had to go with....not a very good idea! So while I waited 20 minutes at a time ( it felt like an hour) between fittings, I had to chase little madam between the displays, the shoe shelves and the lingerie stands. Everything was explored: the luminous platform shoes, the blue bowed beach sandals, the black gladiator sandals...and there is no point in fuming, huffing, stressing or performing. You have released the lion in a department store. There are just no limits to possibilities in this almost 2 year old mind. And after 20 grueling minutes, the teen appears saying, "Oh mum I took the wrong size, can you fetch another one for me?" And the whole process starts again.
Today the situation was swapped. I made her come with me to an animal conservation. "for your sister's sake".I offered her the camera to take pictures, but she discarded it on the back seat. The outing started with a reptile show. At first she dodged the situation, but as the reptile man brought out the little creepy crawlies one by one and the slithering snakes, yes, even a spider, the young teen's face started to change and the girl I know came out of hiding and experienced the intrigue of God's creatures first hand. By the time we came to the giraffe, she ran all the way back to the car, and fetched the camera. This majestic animal so caught her attention, that she kicked off her pumps and broke into a ballet routine. It looked like the giraffe was her ballet instructor, looking on and approving of her routine. The picture stirred my heart and I knew that she will be alright.
So we left there content, happy. " I can't believe I touched a spider, mommy!" Yes, girl. You were awesome!
A very good book to read is "Preparing for the adolescent years" by James Dobson. It is written for the pre-teen growing into a teen and it is very encouraging. I read it before I gave it to her. And when I did give it, I could tell it perhaps was a little too early. But now we can openly refer to it and then discuss issues more easily.
I then one day, I took her shopping. Only thing is the almost 2 year old had to go with....not a very good idea! So while I waited 20 minutes at a time ( it felt like an hour) between fittings, I had to chase little madam between the displays, the shoe shelves and the lingerie stands. Everything was explored: the luminous platform shoes, the blue bowed beach sandals, the black gladiator sandals...and there is no point in fuming, huffing, stressing or performing. You have released the lion in a department store. There are just no limits to possibilities in this almost 2 year old mind. And after 20 grueling minutes, the teen appears saying, "Oh mum I took the wrong size, can you fetch another one for me?" And the whole process starts again.
Today the situation was swapped. I made her come with me to an animal conservation. "for your sister's sake".I offered her the camera to take pictures, but she discarded it on the back seat. The outing started with a reptile show. At first she dodged the situation, but as the reptile man brought out the little creepy crawlies one by one and the slithering snakes, yes, even a spider, the young teen's face started to change and the girl I know came out of hiding and experienced the intrigue of God's creatures first hand. By the time we came to the giraffe, she ran all the way back to the car, and fetched the camera. This majestic animal so caught her attention, that she kicked off her pumps and broke into a ballet routine. It looked like the giraffe was her ballet instructor, looking on and approving of her routine. The picture stirred my heart and I knew that she will be alright.
So we left there content, happy. " I can't believe I touched a spider, mommy!" Yes, girl. You were awesome!
Every day a new experience. Thank you for sharing, Chantal. I believe boys react differently to the teenage years but are still very worrying for the mum! Love you all very much XXX
ReplyDeleteThank you Chantal. Praise God for His church, through reading and hearing what we all with teens are going through is such an encouragement. When one has a nugget of wisdom to share, we all can draw from it. Bless you
ReplyDeleteReading this made me think how God copes with our teenage years in faith. The highs when we would die for Him, the lows when we would hide from Him. The rebellious acts and so called 'secret sins'. Yet He keeps loving and patiently waits until we look in His mirror and see what He has made us to be on Christ.
ReplyDeleteGod will give you great joy in the coming years of your 12 year old discovering for herself the reality of who she is in Christ.