Divinely Stubborn

Such and such teenager doesn't think the rules apply to her. Another teenager is chasing a girl who is two years older and wants to date her even though he is only thirteen. And many more examples were discussed between some of the leaders of my congregation today as they prepared to give a "Standards Night" presentation to the youth later in the evening. Immediately I thought of my kids. Will they have to go through the same difficult stage that my wife and I had to go through because we too were stubborn? I hope not, but given that our kids inherited stubborn genes from both parents, I think we're doomed. Quite frankly, sometimes we worry and sometimes we get frustrated. We are not hopeless however. Maybe our kids are stubborn for a reason. The negative influences of society are getting stronger and stronger, and I feel that Heavenly Father may have sent our kids here with the gift of an extra stubborn heart in order to stand up against those influences, even when it's not popular. I recognize that being stubborn might result in our children spending some time on the wrong side of the line as their way of "standing up" to their parents, but I'm confident that at some point the principles of truth we've tried to teach them from the time they came to us will sink deep into their hearts, that they will be converted, and that they will be just as stubborn in standing up for what is right and good.