why I love teenagers

I've been waiting a really long time for the bad, horrible, tension filled days of teenage life to enter our household. Seriously, in a sort of hold your breath, wait for the other shoe to drop sort of way, I've wondered when things will get really bad. When will my kids refuse to talk to me? When will they sneak out of the house and not tell me? Or go somewhere completely different than where they told me they were going? Fact of the matter is, this has not happened. And as a parent, I feel similar to the way I felt when both of my daughters, respectively, started sleeping through the night at around six to eight weeks of age! Shhhhhh, don't share this with any other parents, because they might just chop your head off or worse!

I absolutely love my daughters. Now, I am in no way deluded. They are not perfect people and they have inherited their share of flaws from both me and my husband. They are probably not going to win any academic awards or be named all-league athletes or the like. But, they have some qualities that I find exceptional, remarkable and God-given.

Let me list a few:
- grateful for what they have and seldom ask for things beyond our means
- they do their own laundry
- they fix their own lunches for school
- one of them is an exceptional cook and the other a great baker
- neither one of them complains about going to church, youth group or the like....they do it willingly and are generally involved in more than would be minimally expected
- sensible
- concerned for others and the planet
- generous
- good, healthy senses of humor
- not overly concerned about looks or fashion
- appropriate and growing sense of independence

Okay, that's enough gloating for now....I am mostly sad that these are not the kinds of traits or qualities that we generally are looking for or affirming in our teenagers. If you live with one, teach one, lead one, know one in any context, the next time you have a conversation with a teenager, ask them things that would draw out matters of person rather than GPA, intended college or latest sporting achievement. You might be surprised!