 Just to clarify any confusion, my family is normal. In fact that imagine attached to this blog is my family. We were with some dear friends of ours at South Haven, MI posing for a picturesque family photo, when this happened. We are normal. Just this week we’ve had to break up fights between my sons. I actually had to say these words, “No you shouldn’t fart on your brother’s head…” among so many other ways of correcting our sons. I lose my temper. At times, I feel like I’m losing my mind parenting our boys. As we wrap up this miniseries, I hope you’ll resist the temptation to fall into the comparison trap. It’s a trap. We all do it to some degree, but it’s a black hole of sinking sand that we can get lost in. A few years ago, I had to go to the store and pick out a picture frame. I needed something simple but creative. I stood in front of the picture frames for several minutes seeking the perfect one. It hit me while I was looking through the frames, that every picture in them was the same. All of them pictured a couple with some children and a small animal of some sort. Everyone was smiling too, even the dogs! None of them seemed stressed, The siblings weren’t fighting or pulling out each other’s hair. Everything looked peaceful and serene. Strange. My family rarely appears that way. In fact, my family rarely acts that way anymore. Maybe picture frame companies should start putting real family photos in their frames. That could be fun. Real families like these... Most importantly, I hope that as we’ve worked through this miniseries, you’ve resisted the comparison trap. The comparison trap is everywhere. We shouldn’t compare ourselves to the filtered perfection of others we see on social media, youtube or any other platform. Behind every Instagram worthy photo are dozens of photos like what we see above.
There isn’t a perfect family. The point of the these blogs has not been to compare one family to another. The point has been to encourage you as the parent to give your family the attention and intentionality they deserve. I believe you can lead your family well and set your children up for success! If we can ever help you to better lead your family, please don’t hesitate to reach out. At RE.THINK, we have many resources and useful tips that can set you and your family up for success. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
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