I guess I did what you're suggesting. There was more fighting and arguing going on about going to church than actual time spent there. After many months of this I realized if I kept insisting and demanding and fighting my kids there was a very real chance all they would remember about God would be the fighting. And my zealot like behavio…
I guess I did what you're suggesting. There was more fighting and arguing going on about going to church than actual time spent there. After many months of this I realized if I kept insisting and demanding and fighting my kids there was a very real chance all they would remember about God would be the fighting. And my zealot like behavior. The previous 10 years of instruction wouldn't matter. They wouldn't remember all the important stuff, the big stuff, the philosophy, because the fighting, consequences, the arguing, the anger, was now overshadowing it all.
So I stopped. I stopped taking them. I stopped even mentioning the church. Stopped it all. And I walked away. The gamble was that when they were old enough to decide for themselves they would remember enough of the good stuff to gravitate back to God on their own. It was a huge risk. You have to play the long game. I got lucky. It worked. So far. The oldest who was 16 when we stopped going bc she was at the center of all the arguing and vitriol is now 21 and when she's troubled she grabs that rosary. She was the one who came up to me and mentioned that a holy day of obligation was the next day and we should plan to go the first time we went back. So, Your right. It can work. But I'll be honest, I felt insane doing it. I told no one why I was doing it. It sounded ridiculous. But I couldn't deny my reasoning was sound and the pay off, if it worked was worth it, and that I was fairly certain if I kept on the path we were going down I was virtually guaranteeing they'd never have a relationship with God ever again. I felt I had to try. One down. Two to go
I guess I did what you're suggesting. There was more fighting and arguing going on about going to church than actual time spent there. After many months of this I realized if I kept insisting and demanding and fighting my kids there was a very real chance all they would remember about God would be the fighting. And my zealot like behavior. The previous 10 years of instruction wouldn't matter. They wouldn't remember all the important stuff, the big stuff, the philosophy, because the fighting, consequences, the arguing, the anger, was now overshadowing it all.
So I stopped. I stopped taking them. I stopped even mentioning the church. Stopped it all. And I walked away. The gamble was that when they were old enough to decide for themselves they would remember enough of the good stuff to gravitate back to God on their own. It was a huge risk. You have to play the long game. I got lucky. It worked. So far. The oldest who was 16 when we stopped going bc she was at the center of all the arguing and vitriol is now 21 and when she's troubled she grabs that rosary. She was the one who came up to me and mentioned that a holy day of obligation was the next day and we should plan to go the first time we went back. So, Your right. It can work. But I'll be honest, I felt insane doing it. I told no one why I was doing it. It sounded ridiculous. But I couldn't deny my reasoning was sound and the pay off, if it worked was worth it, and that I was fairly certain if I kept on the path we were going down I was virtually guaranteeing they'd never have a relationship with God ever again. I felt I had to try. One down. Two to go