You know when you’re a teenager and your dream is to get out of the house and stop having your parents tell you what to do?
Well, this girl graduated high school, left my parents and my Midwest roots, went to college in California, graduated college, moved to Los Angeles thinking I’d “make it” in fashion, and, somehow, a year later voluntarily decided to let my parents be the boss of me—again.
In 2005 I started directing my parents’ Love and Respect Marriage conferences. At that time, the message was new, and I was still learning what this whole Love and Respect thing was all about.
Two years into directing the conferences, I thought I was ready to get married myself. After a painful break-up and some deep soul-searching, I started to remember the phrase people said to me the first couple of years at the conference, “If only I knew then what I know now.” In the midst of my brokenness, I asked God to let me serve my generation. I realized I needed to get this message to my peers if I wanted to help minimize heartache in the long run.
I’ve wrestled with some aspects of the L&R message and God. I’ve questioned it and God’s reasoning for some of his commands. I know marriage and relationships will never be easy, but I have come to a place where I respect this message and God’s commands in Ephesians 5:33.
I see obedience to these areas of my life as empowering.
This teenager never guessed she would choose to let her parents boss her around after the age of 18, but I am so glad that I have the opportunity and privilege to do so. My parents are the real deal, and our hope, as a family, is to get this simple message, in a chaotic world, to people who want to do relationships God’s way—which eventually ends up being the most fulfilling way.
So check out my bosses. They are the reason I do what I do. And, frankly, the reason I exist. Genetically speaking.
