Parenting with Peace
Over the past several years, I’ve done a ton of thinking about family dynamics. As I’ve worked on a specific project, I’ve done lots and lots of interviews and had lots and lots of conversations with teens, college students, and young adults about their emotional state of being. In my work at the church and my daily life as a dad, I see firsthand the pain and scars of life that haunt so many adolescents. Add all of that to an adult world that is still trying to find its identity and moving at a relentless, exhausting pace. It’s no wonder we all feel like these are “crazy times.”
But here’s something I’ve started to notice more and more clearly. As I hear people (particularly kids and teens) talk and express their true longings, I really believe I can see what people are searching for. Sure, so many of us want success, recognition, financial fortune, and comfort. But underneath all of that, I think what we really want is much simpler than that. I think it’s something we chase in all the wrong places… and often at all the wrong speeds. And I think it’s something that can truly be found from only one source.
Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
There it is. Peace. And not just any peace, but peace with God. This is the same God who created the universe, spoke life into existence, and has the power to overcome sin and death. If I have faith in Him, then I am justified through that faith. If I am justified and no longer “guilty” of my sin, I can have a deep, steady peace in my life. I no longer have to carry the burden of my sin or strive to prove my worth. There no longer has to be a constant internal pressure pushing me to keep up, measure up, or do more.
Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And that, my friends, can give us real peace, if we embrace it. Are there still struggles? Absolutely. Is there still pain? Yes. Is life sometimes tough? For sure. But there is a peace that is available to all of us through our relationship with Jesus, and it’s a kind of peace that actually reshapes our pace.
As parents, this matters more than we might realize. Because if we aren’t mentally and emotionally healthy, if we’re constantly hurried, overwhelmed, and running on empty, it’s incredibly difficult to lead our families well. We may love our kids deeply, but if our lives are marked by anxiety, pressure, and hurry, that’s what they will feel most.
So, let me ask you this: Are you resting in, living in, and leading from that peace? Or are you living at a pace that is crowding it out? Do you feel the peace that Jesus brings into your heart, not just in theory, but in the rhythm of your actual, everyday life? Do you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He loves you… and that you don’t have to strive to earn it?
And maybe just as importantly, do your kids feel that from you? Paul writes in Philippians 4, “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” That kind of peace doesn’t usually show up in a life that’s constantly rushed. It grows in a life that slows down enough to receive it. I think that’s what we all really want. I think we want a peace with God that permeates our lives and flows through us to those around us. I think we want hearts and minds that are guarded, not by control or performance, but by the very God who gives us life. And I think our kids are longing for that kind of environment, too.
They want to feel safe. They want to feel loved. They want to know they have value and worth, not because of how they perform, but because of who they are. And one of the greatest ways we can give that to them is by becoming the kind of parents who are learning to live at a healthy pace… rooted in the peace of Jesus.
Imagine what would happen in your home if you weren’t constantly rushing from one thing to the next. Imagine what would shift if your kids could see, hear, and feel a steady, unhurried peace coming from you. Not perfection, but presence. Not pressure, but peace. As you and your family move through this season, I pray that the peace available to you in Jesus would truly rest on your heart and mind. That it would begin to shape not just what you believe, but how you live. And that, as it grows in you, it would naturally flow through you as you lead your kids in the direction of Him.
