A Parent’s Best Helper

Leadings of the Spirit

By: Bert Ghezzi

My wife, Mary Lou, and I have raised seven children. We made many mistakes along the way, but fortunately nothing that we did wrong seems to have permanently damaged any of our sons or daughters.

We also did some things right. Some good parenting practices came naturally. For example, we taught the kids the difference between right and wrong and showed them the importance of living out the two great commandments of loving God and others.

But for many decisions and family policies, we followed wisdom that we did not derive from our own resources. For example, when one of my sons reached adolescence and began to test his limits, I held him to very high standards in every area—eating habits, manners, dress, neatness, schoolwork, morality—you name it. “You are all over him for everything,” a friend told me. “If you don’t back off, you are going to push him into real rebellion.”

You might say that this advice was just good common sense. But in this case, I believe it was wisdom from the…

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