Parenting Without Having It All Figured Out
By Rachel White, Pastor of Next Steps
It hit me recently, somewhere between Evelyn’s birthday and getting Ezra ready for his first year of middle school, that we don’t have an elementary schooler in the house anymore. Evelyn just turned 13, so we are newly, officially parents of teenagers, and Ezra is right behind her. Just like that, we’ve crossed over into a whole new stage, and I had one of those moments where I looked at my kids and thought, I have no idea what I’m doing here. Anyone else? Parenting has a way of humbling you just when you thought you’d figured out your kid, because then they grow another inch, another year, another layer of complexity, and you’re back to square one—twice over, in our house.
You might expect that because Ellis and I are pastors, we’ve got this whole parenting thing figured out. I promise you, we don’t. Loving our own kids well, in the actual mess of daily life, still takes every ounce of grace and grit we can muster. “Train up a child in the way he should go,” Proverbs tells us, “and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). I believe that. I also know it’s a lot easier to memorize than to live out on a Tuesday night when everyone’s tired and nobody agrees on bedtime.
That’s part of why Ellis and I are so glad to be leading The Parenting Course this fall. It’s not a class for parents who’ve got it all together—honestly, I’m not sure that parent exists. It’s for the rest of us: the ones who love our kids fiercely and still feel like we’re figuring it out one day at a time. Whether you’ve got a toddler, a teenager, or several kids spanning every age in between, this course meets you where you are and gives you real, practical tools for building stronger relationships and healthier rhythms at home.
Here’s what you can expect: live teaching, honest small-group conversation with other parents grouped by the age and stage of your kids, so you’re not just learning together, you’re making some real friends in the trenches with you, plus a genuinely welcoming, no-judgment environment. We’ll cover dinner for the grown-ups and kids two and up, and there’s a supervised kids’ program running alongside for ages three months through 8th grade, so bring the whole crew.
The details:
Wednesdays, October 7–November 4
6:00–8:00 pm
in the Gathering Place at Chapel Hill
Early-bird pricing is $75 per adult through September 8, and $100 after that. Scholarships are available, no questions asked, because we don’t want cost to be the reason a family misses this. If you’re in a season where you can give more than you receive, you can also sponsor a scholarship for another parent through our Sponsor a Parent option.
Registration closes October 5, so don’t let it sneak up on you the way most of parenting does. You can find all the details and sign up here.
I don’t think any of us gets to the end of raising kids wishing we’d invested less in them. I’d love for you to join us this fall—bring your questions, your exhaustion, your hope, and your kids. We’ll figure a little more of this out together.
Pastor Rachel