Dear Parents:
Valentines Day is coming up and with it cards, candy, flowers and balloons! For teens in a relationship, it can be a day filled with all of these things, but for those who aren't, well... it can be a painful reminder of a broken heart, a lost love, a sense of unworthiness. This week's devotions [February 8-14] center on that crushed feeling we have all experienced.
A teen will automatically wonder "What is wrong with me? Am I unlovable? Why don't I have a girlfriend/boyfriend/best friend? I mean really, what is wrong with me?"
Often, we are willing to boil our entire self-concept down to what the crush-of-the-month thinks of us. That statement kind of stops you in your tracks --- we realize we are seeking our self-confidence in the acceptance of others;
we are able to see we are looking in the wrong place, and yet we still do it. Intellectually we know God's love and approval is really the only approval we need, but it's still hard to put into practice.
Ask your child...
Valentines Day is coming up and with it cards, candy, flowers and balloons! For teens in a relationship, it can be a day filled with all of these things, but for those who aren't, well... it can be a painful reminder of a broken heart, a lost love, a sense of unworthiness. This week's devotions [February 8-14] center on that crushed feeling we have all experienced.
A teen will automatically wonder "What is wrong with me? Am I unlovable? Why don't I have a girlfriend/boyfriend/best friend? I mean really, what is wrong with me?"
Often, we are willing to boil our entire self-concept down to what the crush-of-the-month thinks of us. That statement kind of stops you in your tracks --- we realize we are seeking our self-confidence in the acceptance of others;
we are able to see we are looking in the wrong place, and yet we still do it. Intellectually we know God's love and approval is really the only approval we need, but it's still hard to put into practice.
Ask your child...
- What are ways to keep God at the center of your life, regardless if you are dating or not?
- How will you invite God to be part of your dating relationships?
- To go on a father/daughter or mother/son date with you. Share a past rejection with your child; how it made you feel; how you moved past it. Encourage them to share their dating experiences/relationships with you. As parents, you are filled with wisdom and past experiences that can open the door to conversation.
- Reassure your child that you pray for them daily; for a relationship they may be in and for their future spouse. This may freak them out a bit, so use your own discretion!
- Have your child recall the last time they felt rejected. Tell them to write about it spontaneously, without editing for five minutes. What themes emerge? Who or what influences their identity?
- Remind them they are considered precious in His sight (Isaiah 43:4)!
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