What it is suppose to feel like?

What is it suppose to feel like as a parent of teenagers? Am I suppose to feel like I don't know what I am doing..am I suppose to feel this sad even though I feel like I am doing what it right deep down within? Am I suppose to work this hard to fight the fear that comes with parenting kids of this age...particularly those with ADHD, with FASD, with hearts so big they can not even imagine others with intentions that are not so pure?

My daughters best friend got her drivers license and within a few minutes she was in the driveway ready to pick up my daughter. They were just going to Walmart--not far away. They only had 20 minutes before my daughter needed to be at rugby practice. But then they ended up 20 miles away at a mall in the dark on the first evening of having a license..with no text, no call...no permission to do so, and no intention of going to rugby practice. I thought it may be a good time to call the other parents involved...surely they would have concerns as well. I thought would be a good idea to lay out some rules about this new found freedom. They bought her the car. She doesn't have a job to pay for anything on her own. This is not a family with likeminded values, but I had really thought I would be able to appeal to their sense of safety for their daughter. That was an assumption I should not have made.

They had no problem with their daughter driving in the dark on the freeway with a friend in a car..a car that she does not value or pay for.  I don't know if they just don't care (I think they do), if they are naive, if they value being a friend to their daughter and not a parent...I don't know. But, it makes me mad just the same...

If I found this to be just a unique situation, I would still be upset. But, rarely do we see parents at the high school level, asking probing questions, and expecting their children to live to a higher standard. I know I must concern myself with my own child, our own family values, own own standards of honor and respect that we expect from ourselves and our children--but so many others parents make this really hard to do.

This is such a stupid post...there is nothing new to this tale..this is the story of parenting teens and it hasn't changed much over the years. This is the story of what it means to live by standards that do not make one popular, "cool" or appreciated. This is what it means to live by faith. Is this what it is suppose to feel like? Sometimes it is...

Because maybe if I feel like I  have no idea what I am doing then I will look to the One who has the answers... and I will again entrust my teenagers to Him.