Episode 110 – Focus on Planting Relationship Seeds the Give You Good Fruit
This is the 4th episode in the series for parents who have a child that has left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Every single day you are planting relationship seeds that you will some day harvest. You’re planting these relationship seeds with what you are thinking, feeling, and doing, even when you’re not aware of it.
In this episode, I’ll show you how to tell the difference between a seed that will give you the fruit you want to have vs a seed that will give you a fruit you don’t want to have. It all starts with how you are making meaning of the circumstances in your life, especially what you are making it mean that your child has left the church.
Take aways:
1. The story you tell yourself is optional, and you are the storyteller. Choose a story that brings you into alignment with the greatest commandments to love God, others, and yourself. “Others” includes your child who has left the church. Get help with this through coaching or therapy if you need to. Most people need to.
2. This experience you are having is for YOUR benefit. Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them what love God…” Find out what that means for you. This might be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but there is a reason you are having this experience, and it is your gift to find out what that is. Again, seek out help if you need to through coaching or therapy.
Challenge:
Keep a gratitude journal for the next 7 days. Each day, write down 3 things you are grateful for and don’t repeat anything during the 7 days.
You get 1 freebie each day to write down something you are grateful for right now. The other 2 things you write need to come from the circumstance of your child leaving the church. Find the blessing, the gratitude, or the lesson you’re learning from this circumstance. Even in our most difficult circumstances, there are gifts and things to be grateful for. This will stretch you mind and your heart, but by the end of the 7 days, your perspective will shift.