10 Ways My Parents Loved Me

My dad is getting ready to do a speaking engagement at a men’s group he attends and it’s on how to love your children and grandchildren. I’m writing from the perspective of the child being loved and how that love was demonstrated in my life.

We all like lists, right? I do.

I made a list of 10 ways my parents demonstrated their love for me growing up.

1. They sometimes said “no.” I didn’t always get what I wanted when I wanted. I tried, boy did I try. I even found a note to my mom that she saved that said “please can so and so come over we won’t make noise and we will clean up.” I’m not sure if they gave in, but I remember many times no matter how hard I begged it was still, “no.”

2.They corrected me. When I got out of line, I got a talking to and paid the consequence. This taught me that there are consequences for your actions.

3.They taught me how to be orderly and responsible. I had chores and I didn’t get $5 for doing them. You just did them.

4. They talked with me about life, purpose, and value. I have memories of asking about the universe and other deep subjects and my dad willingly talking with me. We also would talk after seeing a movie about some of the philosophical or theological points. He taught me how to be discerning of these things as I navigate through regular everyday life. My mom always had great wisdom too. She was more practical and frank about things, a great quality she passed on to me.

5.They Laughed and had fun with me. Made music, went shopping, took me and my friends on outings. My dad would joke around with me and my friends a lot. Such great memories. Life doesn’t always have to be serious!

6. They listened to me. I never felt, that just because I was a kid, that I didn’t have anything valuable to say. I always felt valued.

7. They taught me to be forgiving gracious and kind because I saw that in their example.

8. They taught me the value of giving and thinking of others. My mom set a beautiful example of thoughtfulness and a generous heart.

9. They taught me that sometimes you have to do things that you don’t like. Don’t whine. Sometimes there are sacrifices that have to be made. Sometimes life can be hard, but be an overcomer. Be courageous.

10. They taught me above all else to honor the Lord and put him first. They prayed with me. I have memories of me and my dad praying before going to school in the morning.

They demonstrated this in their own walk with the Lord. They taught me the scriptures. I’m so thankful I have God’s word hidden in my heart because they planted that seed.

How these things have benefited me, almost goes without saying. Every one of these 10 things(and there are many more than 10) have impacted me as a person greatly.

I realize that not everyone has this same experience and my story is far from perfect. These are highlights of God’s grace but not all was easy and definitely was full of bumps and hard roads. No one loves perfectly except God.

If you can’t relate in any way to my experience, that’s ok, please know that God loves you perfectly in all these ways and infinitely more.

Ultimately He is love! And God demonstrates it perfectly through Jesus.

We love because He first loved us!

Johanna