An Apprenticeship in "Family 101"

I was realizing today as we hung out with the guests at Naomi House, that our ultimate goal is to provide a real-life model of healthy, loving, family relationships. We have parenting classes yes, but we also provide a glimpse into the lives of real parents with real children. The good moments and the bad. I have four little girls, so when our family comes to visit the women and their children in the home, I can't fake it. I have to put my children in time-out, and get frustrated when they are not listening, and deal with whining, and fighting over toys. But I realized that I am also able to provide an example of "normal" mothering-- though "normal" is a very relative term!! Normal moms get tired, normal moms burn dinner once in a while, normal moms have bad days. Normal moms need God's help just as much as anyone else.

It is such a simple concept, and many people grew up with this healthy model without really thinking about it. But for those who did not, that foundation was not laid and it makes it tough to deal with the everyday realities of parenting- let alone the added stress of having no money, no place to call home, and no father to help shoulder the responsibilities.

What is so cool about Naomi House, is that God has led us to be family. The women learn how to have healthy family relationships when they leave, because they learn how to have healthy family relationships each day that they stay. They learn to discipline in love, be frustrated but not flip out, be sad but not check out on reality, and most importantly how to trust God for all their needs, big and small. Because the volunteers and staff are women and mothers who do the same.