“No one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.'” Luke 5:39
“When can I get a cell phone?” my son had asked constantly over the course of his Middle School career. “When you’re in High School,” had always been my go-to response.
I knew I was the one parent in his peer group that had held out the longest. But, just like Jesus wasn’t phased by his disciples’ behavior being compared to that of John’s and the pharisees’, I wasn’t phased by mine being compared to that of other parents. I knew my teenage son getting a cell phone would change everything.
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Shifting My Perspective 
I commend you for your steadfastness and Zack’s patience in sticking to your guns on this. My Fifth grader is asking when and I have the same answer, high school. Like you say, it’s tough when his friends in the same grade already have phones. Ugh, we still have 4 years, I hope we make it!
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Stay strong, Laura! I’ve hear so many moms say that once their kids have phones they lose their kids. These next few weeks will be a roller coaster ride as Zack learns to be on his phone, but still BE with people. Seeing as I fall prey to falling down the rabbit hole of technology, please pray that I’m able to lead him to a place of balance (and please pray for a place of balance for me too!).
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God bless you for sticking to your guns, as difficult as it is. I’m sure Zack will be very responsible with his new phone. What a thrill for him! Will be asking his Guardian Angel to keep reminding him of the rules!! xoxo
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Thanks, Mom! I think learning boundaries with the phone is going to be our biggest challenge yet. So I could REALLY use some prayers for both Zack and me. 🙂
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Having a God given intuition for the heart of a child, and from my long experience of teaching
children of all ages, I can say with confidence that children long for parents who show tough love and discipline in given situations such as your phone issue and the boundaries you set, and difficult as it is now, the older they become, the more they’ll recognize with love, gratitude and reassurance just how blessed they were to have such caring, responsible parents. So stay the course,MOM, and know that in doing so, you honor our loving Father who has entrusted His cherished child to you for nurturing, protecting and calling forth the highest and best that already resides deep within each of your children.
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Jackie, your comment is so inspiring! I’m going to revisit it over and over again to keep myself strong in this “tough love” portion of my motherhood. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom!
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Loved the prayer!!
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Thanks so much, Jean! I think I need to prayer it more. 🙂
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