Kids get hurt. And we as parents try to shield our children from the natural consequences of being kids. Listen to parents with their kids on the playground. The reverberating theme: “Be careful!” And we do need to teach kids to be careful – to some degree. But we also need to teach them how to live wild and adventuresome lives with a bit of wisdom. We need to let them learn the lessons of life by experiencing the natural consequences of their choices.
Q: How does a child learn the meaning of hot? A: By touching something hot.
Our youngest granddaughter, Braylin, recently learned the meaning of hot that way. Now when she’s told something’s hot, there’ll be no need to tell her to be careful. She will know to be careful because she knows what hot means.
Parents sometimes try too hard to protect their kids from germs. Kids need germs in order to develop immunity to germs. Sterilized kids are more vulnerable to inevitable contact with germs in a germy world.
What if we were to switch our focus from insulating and isolating our kids to inoculating them with truth? What if we were to allow them to experience the consequences of their “dangerous” behavior while they’re young—while the consequences are relatively trivial? Possibly they would be better prepared to navigate life with a bit of experiential wisdom. (http://www.raisingarrows.net/tag/logical-consequences/)
Our Father does not shield us from pain. He does not cause pain, but neither does He protect us from the natural consequences of our choices – or the choices of others. Why? Because He loves us, and a Father who loves His children allows His kids to experience the consequences of choices.
Just as our kids run to us when they’re hurt, we are designed to run to our heavenly Daddy when we’re hurt, too. But our tendency is to do life our way rather than God’s way. So when we feel pain and grief, what are we inclined to do? Make the discomfort go away. We have a pill for that, or an addiction. We gorge ourselves…we spend too much money…we compromise our values sexually just to try to sooth the ache and the pain.
But when we run to our Daddy, He will not only comfort us – He will also teach us the life lessons of what it means to live life His way rather than the way of the world. The bumps and bruises of living in a fallen world are inevitable. We get to choose whether or not we will trust our heavenly Father to comfort us along the way, and to guide our steps.
“The LORD says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’” ~Psalm 32:8
Rod & Rose 
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