“The Art of Parenting” – A Inspirational Poem About Being A Parent

Parenting is like carving a sculpture from glass –
too rough and it shatters;
too delicate and you leave the edges too jagged
and the corners too sharp,
sure to find failure and breed a selfish heart.
The sculptor must bear the cuts and bruises
if the piece is to become a true work of art,
chipping away small fragments of imperfection
each time a hateful yell or scream provides an examination,
molding character and values with imperfect hands.
There are frequent failures and regretted actions,
but you wake each day determined to do the best you can.
From experience will come wisdom,
and as soon as you become wise,
you’ll find you’re a fool.
This thing called parenting has no manuals or fit-alls
and has few hard-written rules.
Some days end with a rewarding smile,
others with frustrating sighs.
But the goal is not friendship or perfection.
It’s to prepare a child for life.

– Poem Written by Justin Farley

Behind the Poetry

Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. The few parenting skills that are required are patience, more patience, self-control, discipline, selflessness, and unconditional love – all of which most people find are their greatest weaknesses. Some days kids are a blessing to be around, the next so miserable that you feel you’re going to lose it if you hear one more complaint.

Raising kids is an art in a sense. You start with a person that has no “form” to their character and values, and your task is to shape and mold your child as he or she grows. But this piece can move, talk, fight back, defy, love, bless, care, be happy, angry, sad, hyper, and a slew of other emotions. It’s tough work and does require lots of patience and sometimes, a not so pleasant examination of yourself. The reward though is that you have a piece of art, God’s art, that is beautiful and alive, able to think for themselves and to interact with and love.

There are countless books, tapes, and videos that claim to teach you how to be a parent. They may provide some guidance, but we all know that each child is different and what works for one child backfires with another. No, parenting is like art – you learn by doing. You get your hands dirty and jump in there, sure to make mistakes, but you keep trying day after day to learn all you can about your “craft”.

Beauty is often born from chaos, and kids can create a lot of it. Parenthood sometimes can feel like a constant struggle to just keep the chaos contained long enough that it doesn’t fall apart. But then you have good days, and you realize that it was never meant to be easy. When you raise your kids right, you are forced to also raise yourself…to grow alongside them. One of a child’s greatest skills is pulling every negative part of your character out of the hidden parts of your heart and putting them on display. You have to look at that part of you and decide if that’s someone you want you child to be around. And they unknowingly push us to change for the better. In the end, we teach each other about life, love, and what it means to be a family.

Hello, everyone! I have recently published my first chapbook of Christian poems titled “A Voice in the Wilderness – A Chapbook of Poems about God”. This has been developed and polished over the past six months or so. I am happy with the final product and hope you find encouragement in the poems but also a validation that the spiritual life is not all sunshine and rainbows. We all struggle. We all have periods of questions and/or doubt. But it is the yearning that keeps us coming back for more and allows us to experience joy.

You can purchase either on Amazon or on my own bookstore (it is cheaper and has free shipping on my store) and is available on the Kindle and in paperback.

Amazon: Kindle Paperback

Inkspiration Books (my bookstore): Paperback

Thank you for your support!