Karen Dockrey - Bold Parents, Positive Teens: Loving and Guiding Your Child Through the Challenges of Adolescence

C ONCLUSION : W RAP E VERY A CTION IN L OVE
Even When You Dont Feel Like It

You know the sound of Daaad! And Mo-ther! These are clear signs that adolescence has arrived. Your teenager begins to question what you say rather than trust you as the smartest person in the universe. He now prefers that you become invisible in public places, blending into the background Secret Servicestyle, rather than be seen with him.

This is a difficult and confusing time for parents who wonder if theyve lost all the fun and closeness they used to share with their kids. But happily, the good days are far from over. Adolescence marks the beginning of a fresh adventure, not an ever deepening doom. Dont believe the rumors that tell you teenagers are people to dread. Every single day, all over the world, real teenagers remain close to real parents. Every day real parents equip their teenagers to journey successfully toward independent adulthood. Every day real teenagers communicate with their parents about what is deep in their minds and heavy on their hearts. Every day parents and teens work together to accomplish Gods purposes. Its an intense but first-class process of growing to maturity that is led by our very good God. With God guiding the process, you have real reason for optimism.

But wait a minute! If every day real teenagers stay close to real parents, why do so many parents spend so much time fighting with their teens? Why do so many teenagers pull away from their parents? Its because there are fire-breathing monsters out there eager to consume your teenagers. These monsters include lack of communication, bad friends, self-centeredness, irresponsibility, disobedience, temptations, destructive patterns, and lack of spiritual connection. But thats not all. There is also laziness (on the part of teens or parents), unharnessed emotions, and outright rebellion. You cant chase these monsters away with a flashlight as you could when your kids were toddlers. But you can tame them just as effectively. This book will show you how.

To prepare for monster slaying, you need to know a few facts about the monsters your teens grapple with. For one thing, these enemies use a new weapon against parents, the weapon of fear. Theres a lot to be afraid of when youre parenting teens.

• What if your teenagers stop talking to you and you lose the closeness youve built all these years?
• What if your teenagers fall in with the wrong crowd and mess up their entire lives with a few dumb choices?
• What if, when you discipline your teenagers, they rebel and never come back?
• What if your teenagers question God and then reject their faith?
• What if your teenagers never develop the life skills they need to become responsible, independent adults?

These arent irrational fears since these things can and do happen to teenagers every day. What doesnt make sense is to sit idly by and wait. Though youve heard it a billion times, its simply not true that once kids enter the teen years, theres nothing parents can do. Nor is it true that if you pray and leave it all up to God, things will turn out all right.

Godly success requires action. Every day, parents and teens work together to fight off the monsters that threaten them, their relationships, and their God-given purposes. You must take initiative, like the father portrayed in Luke 15. In this parable, the father represents God, who not only waits patiently for us to return to him, but who also constantly watches for us and runs to embrace us, drawing us close to him.