Who will fight the battle?

• By candidasullivan
• November 27, 2023
• No Comments

What if our inability to break bad habits and traditions means our children must battle those things?

This thought brings me to tears. I will not force my children to fight battles I was too scared to fight.

We all have traditions that we continue from our parents and grandparents, whether we realize it or not. I saw something once that said a woman cut the ends off her ham before placing it in the pan. When her husband asked her why, she said she didn’t know, but that’s how my mom did it. He asked her mom, and she said so it would fit in my pan. The story made me smile. How many things have been passed generationally without even knowing why?

While some traditions are so important, others need to end with us. We are the ones who need to examine the practices of our family tree and see what resonates with us.

My mom and dad are such giving people. I’ve watched them give and help others my entire life. I don’t want that tradition to end with me. I want to continue the beautiful gift of helping others and giving and teach my children the importance.

The Bible lays open in my parent’s house. I could walk in and find it open on the kitchen table anytime. Therefore, I keep my Bible open on my desk. It reminds me to read it every day. I hope my boys will notice it and be encouraged to read their Bibles.

When I quit smoking, I did it for my kids. I wanted the addiction to cigarettes to end with me. I didn’t want to pass it along to my kids.

Every day, I show up and work hard because I want my kids to see what it takes and what it looks like to go after their dreams. I don’t just tell them to dream big and chase their dreams but model it for them.

Sweet friend, we get to decide the traditions and habits we will continue. We can be the ones who break years of generational traditions- both good and bad. Therefore, we need to be careful who we allow to influence us.

I definitely want to continue the beautiful tradition of serving the Lord and loving my family. I don’t want serving the Lord and others to end with me. So, I do my best to model it for my kids.

Sometimes, I like to think about this. If my kids do the things I do daily, what kind of life will they have? And anything that makes me cringe is something I work on immediately. I desire to break the bad cycles of pain and pass along good gifts to my children.

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