Light The World- Honor Your Parents

Jesus Honored His Parents, and So Can You

This last Thanksgiving Holiday found me in Idaho at my parent's house for the whole week. And before the rest of the family descended up on us, we (my parent's, my sister, and even my husband for a bit there) got involved in another verbal wrestling match of ideas. This happens fairly frequently in my parent's home. I think this is one of our most defining characteristics as a family. And I think it's one way my parents have helped me define me. Here is a list of topics over the last few months:

The Root Cause of Terrorism
What Turns Extremists into Terrorists
White Privilege
How We are All Racists
Mansplaining
Feminism and why cat calling isn't cool
Saving Seed and GMOs
School Shootings, Gun Control, and Mental Health
Sweat Shops/Fast Fashion
White Man's Burden
Impacts of Colonialism
Global Warming

The morning after our most recent contest, my sister, my mom, and I went grocery shopping for the epic Whole30 Thanksgiving Feast my sister had planned (it was soooooo good!). And we got talking about our "conversation" from the night before, not about the ideas themselves, but about how we have conversations like that with our parents. I personally think I have the best parents in the world and one of the big reasons is because we have conversations like this. Because they have taught us to think and articulate our thoughts and even if it frustrates them sometimes that we have our own opinions on things, that they will always engage with us. That they are willing to listen and change their minds. That even though they both grew up with very specific ideas on what it means to respect their parents (don't disagree, don't argue, always defer), that they don't hold us to those same standards. And mostly, that no matter how heated it gets, that they put the relationship first and always end with love (this is mostly my mom's doing). I also hope they know that they ground us in wisdom and help us see greater truth than we could see on our own, that we respect their experience and knowledge and that they are still influencing our thoughts and beliefs. And that I love them SOOO much!