Powerful Blessings

There are countless ways that an adult can bless a young person.  In Trent & Smalley’s book, The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance, dozens of specific examples are given by people who were greatly blessed by their parents.  Here are a few of those testimonies.  Surely there is something here which can inspire you to better express your love for the young people in your life.

• My parents would take the time to really listen to me when I talked to them by looking directly into my eyes.
• We were often spontaneously getting hugged, even apart from a task or chore.
• They would let me explain my side of the story.
• My father would put his arm around me at church and let me lay my head on his shoulder.
• They were willing to admit when they were wrong and say, “I’m sorry.”
• My parents prayed for me out loud, even when I didn’t feel like I deserved it.
• My father loved me by loving my mother.
• When I wrecked my parents’ car, my father’s first reaction wa to hug me and let me cry, instead of yelling at me.
• My parents would always make sure I knew why I was being disciplined.
• My parents never acted like they were perfect, and they never expected us to be perfect either.
• Now that I’m an adult, I really appreciate how my father taught me to communicate with him.  That has helped me know how to talk with my husband now that I’m married.
• I never felt as if I had to perform to gain my father’s approval.
• Even when I was very overweight in high school, my parents still made me feel attractive.
• My father let me share in his failures as well as his successes.
• My mom used to rub my legs after cheerleading practice.
• My father would ask to talk to each of us kids personally when he called in from a trip.
• We would hold hands together when we said grace; then when we finished, we would squeeze the person’s hand next to us three time, which stood for “I love you.”