Common Ground
A mama I deeply respect once told me about her oldest son’s teen years. “I was afraid we were going to lose him,” she said. Her strategy was to help him find an interest. That interest turned out to be antiques. Since he liked antiques, she jumped in to encourage him. She joined him on common ground. She went to auctions. She scrounged with him. She helped him with an antique booth. Her son survived and flourished. Today he is a godly husband and a homeschooling daddy.
God wasn’t only afraid he had lost His children. He knew He had. He sent His one and only Son to walk on our common ground. When Jesus saw our danger, He become one of us and died for us.
Some mamas and daddies throw up their hands in frustration: “That kid! I don’t know what to do with him!” What they don’t do is take the next step after that understandable one. Other parents, like my friend, find common ground. It might be a hobby. It might be a way to serve. It might be all sorts of things.
Below are some recent and long ago interests illustrated at the Library of Congress.
Sometimes we have to step way outside our own preferences to find common ground with a bewildering child from another generation. Sometimes we have to lay down our own interests for a while, maybe a long while. Jesus’ went farther than that. He laid down His life.
. . . do not merely look out for your own personal interests,
but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4
I have become all things to all men,
so that I may by all means save some.
1 Corinthians 9:22
I simply love this post.
It hurts my heart when I hear Moms say they don’t homeschool because they can’t stand to spend that much time with their kids. It makes me SAD!
We have found a group in our town that has a themed dance once a month. We went to our very first one recently. I was so happy to see kids and parents doing the chicken dance together! Teenagers not embarrassed by their parents outdated dance moves. Parents learning modern day dance moves.
As your story implied, when people of any age come together to enjoy a common activity it can be very bonding.
Blessings,
Johnna
I was just this week telling a close friend that I’m at a loss with how to relate to my almost teenager. He is an awesome kid but he’s just between that kid stage and adult. She gave me this same advice- find something he likes to do and do it with him! I never thought about how the Lord came down and did that for us. Thank you so much for the wisdom and encouragement!