We were not perfect parents. I'm not sure there are any--but we've seen some pretty amazing ones over the years. For us, we struggled being consistent and loving at the same time as providing needed discipline. Why is consistent, loving discipline so hard? We had two amazing kids, with one who especially challenged us by always trying to do things his own way. One night the Lord gave Jonathan a dream. Here's how my journal recorded it, and how he can still picture it, with a picture by Ethan.
"He dreamed he was driving a car and came to a small bridge and drove over it. Then he came to a big bridge between 2 high cliffs with a river flowing underneath. The bridge had no rails and was narrow. At one point he meant to turn the wheels to the right, but goofed and turned to the left and went over the edge."
Jonathan woke up in the middle of the night crying and upset. We got up, heard his dream and comforted him and prayed with him. We knew right away what the dream meant. We told him that the railings were for our protection and that they were like discipline to help us not go the wrong way. The dream was for us, that we hadn't been providing the railings and discipline he needed to help him be a secure and content boy.
"Then the next day I asked his forgiveness for not being a railing for him when he needed it. He so needs us to put the boundaries on his road to life and can't manage himself. Help us, Lord, to help him and to be the authority of LOVE he needs."
So we continued learning on all fronts: how to parent, how to be married, and how to speak Spanish more fluently (we continued the courses downtown in January), and for me how to release the pain of Nepal to my Father in an ongoing process. Most of the Nepal teams we were with were returning, yet Bill knew that we were not to do this. So how do I let go? I am such a slow learner. But we wanted to learn and wanted our kids to grow to be loving, respectful individuals who loved our Father more than anyone or anything else.
We also did a lot of fun things as you can see in some of these pics. At the SIL base there was space to slide and to ride bicycles-thus the Tuggy-Leal parade.
Plus Jenny was given a parakeet named Feliz (happy in English) that made her very happy. Now we finally had a real pet. :)
We also made a fun trip to Patzquaro with Wardles and Bulls, a fascinating place filled with copper treasures and a beautiful lake. We are grateful for the good friends and good times God was adding to our lives and journey.
"He dreamed he was driving a car and came to a small bridge and drove over it. Then he came to a big bridge between 2 high cliffs with a river flowing underneath. The bridge had no rails and was narrow. At one point he meant to turn the wheels to the right, but goofed and turned to the left and went over the edge."
Jonathan woke up in the middle of the night crying and upset. We got up, heard his dream and comforted him and prayed with him. We knew right away what the dream meant. We told him that the railings were for our protection and that they were like discipline to help us not go the wrong way. The dream was for us, that we hadn't been providing the railings and discipline he needed to help him be a secure and content boy.
"Then the next day I asked his forgiveness for not being a railing for him when he needed it. He so needs us to put the boundaries on his road to life and can't manage himself. Help us, Lord, to help him and to be the authority of LOVE he needs."
So we continued learning on all fronts: how to parent, how to be married, and how to speak Spanish more fluently (we continued the courses downtown in January), and for me how to release the pain of Nepal to my Father in an ongoing process. Most of the Nepal teams we were with were returning, yet Bill knew that we were not to do this. So how do I let go? I am such a slow learner. But we wanted to learn and wanted our kids to grow to be loving, respectful individuals who loved our Father more than anyone or anything else.
Plus Jenny was given a parakeet named Feliz (happy in English) that made her very happy. Now we finally had a real pet. :)
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