Teenagers

Two of my three kids are entering their teenage years, with number three nipping at their heals.  When they were going through confirmation a couple of years ago, the book Like Dew Your Youth, by Eugene Peterson, was recommended to me.  I really haven't picked it up until now.  It's a short little book, and I haven't gotten very far in it yet, but it is giving me a new way to look at adolescence.

ad·o·les·cence/ˌadlˈesəns/

Noun: The period following the onset of puberty during which a young person develops from a child into an adult.

Eugene Peterson says, "Adolescence is , by definition, maladjustment.  And getting adjusted is a strenuous and often noisy process."  The biggest point he makes in the very first chapter is that adolescence is a GIFT to the parents, God's gift.  "A time for parents to enjoy a deeper, richer relationship with their children and for both parents and young adults to grow spiritually."

I'll probably read the rest of the book quickly, hoping to glean what this gift from God, adolescence, really is.  Then I'll re-read it.  Then I'll get my dear husband to read it.  Maybe we will enjoy this gift more than we can ever imagine.