Parenting is hard

The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom!

… If only I had died instead of you – O Absalom, my son, my son!” (verse 33)

Read 2 Samuel 18:19-33

There is a long back-story to David and Absalom’s relationship, and it’s worth reading (2 Samuel 13-14). While we don’t have a lot of information around the kind of father David was, we do know that before the rebellion, Absalom had not seen his father for five years. Was Absalom looking for approval from his father? Did Absalom know that his father loved him? Or did David wait too long to tell him? We don’t know.

Parenting is no easy task! It takes a lot of time, a lot of patience, a lot of love, and a lot of learning from your mistakes. But it is so important that we tell and show our children, and those we love, how much they mean to us. As they say, ‘children spell love T.I.M.E.’

Who in your life do you need to spend more time with? When did you last tell them how much they mean to you?

Dear Heavenly Father, you are the perfect parent. Please help me to show my loved ones how much I care about them and make the time to be with them. Amen.

by Rebecca Cronau in ‘Time Out to Tune in’ (LCA, Australian Christian Resources, 2018)

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