My toddler refused to hold my hand as we were walking in to a crowded parking lot. I tried to give him a chance to walk right by me, but he was too unpredictable. He started to take off.
I chased him and picked him up. Boy, was he mad. He kicked and screamed and tried to hit me as I carried him to the car.
These words came out of my mouth as I struggled to contain him, “It is my job to keep you safe, buddy. It is not my job for you to like me.”
My response got me thinking, “What is my job as a mother?” I came up with this job description as if talking to children:
It is my job to be your parent. It is not my job to be your friend.
It is my job to help you become independent. It is not my job to do everything for you.
It is my job to teach you right from wrong. It is not my job to be popular.
It is my job to do what is best for your long term growth. It is not my job to do what is convenient.
It is my job to give you everything you need. It is not my job to give you everything you want.
It is my job to equip you with tools, skills and confidence to solve problems. It is not my job to solve your problems.
It is my job to support you. It is not my job to take over.
It is my job to nurture you. It is not my job to entertain you.
It is my job to love you unconditionally. It is not my job judge you.
Sometimes we lose focus on what our “job” really is. The parenting lines get blurry, peer pressure mounts, energy decreases, the desire to be liked takes over, and we tend to shift the job description to an easier, short term fast fix. It takes much courage and resolve to understand a parent’s true responsibility.
(Can you think of anything else for our job description?)
![I spoke in church today and said the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the greatest act of Charity. I read Moroni 7:45-47 to make my point. But wherever there was the word ‘Charity’ I substituted it out for ‘the Atonement of Jesus Christ.’ See if these scripture verses now have new meaning for you:
“And the Atonement of Jesus Christ suffererth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth in the truth,
[The Atonement of Jesus Christ] beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ye are nothing, for the Atonement of Jesus Christ never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail-
But the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”
So Easter really reminds us of love. The first and greatest commandment.](https://www.raisinglemons.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
WONDERFUL post! You have your job description down pat. It’s much too easy to forget exactly what we’re supposed to do as parents, especially when that human need to be liked/loved takes over in our hearts. Thanks so much for sharing!
Like it so much I printed it to hang up.
How about defining my job description as a 66 year old mom?
Love it! Thanks for the reminder!!!
This is great Tiff!
Loved this! An idea: what if you had Kelsie design something for these job descriptions so it’s nice and cute and we can hang it up in our house??
I could stand to have it on my fridge as a daily reminder.
This is great. Thanks for sharing.
I love this as well..and totally agree. Thank you for the great reminder.