so they won't need me

"We feed children in order that they may soon be able to feed themselves; we teach them in order that they may soon not need our teaching. Thus a heavy task is laid upon this Gift-love. It must work towards its own abdication. We must aim at making ourselves superfluous. The hour when we can say 'They need me no longer' should be our reward." CS Lewis The Four Loves

 





Though it sounds a little harsh, one of the best pieces of advice that someone gave me when I first became a mom was--from the very beginning, you are teaching your child not to need you. The more I parent and the more I fall in the love with my children, the more I desire to give them this gift.

It can be challenging though--to love them the way they need to be loved and not to love them in order to meet my own needs as a mom.

I've been reading CS Lewis' The Four Loves, and it is reminding me of this old, but simple truth--it's not about me.

I guess more than anything I pray that I would teach them that they need Jesus; I hope I don't get in the way.