One of my earliest memories growing up was being a toddler. I couldn’t have been more than three years old, and I remember I woke up every midnight like clockwork. When I woke up, I would immediately cry. And as I grew up in a small, two-bedroom townhouse, when I was just a little bub, I shared a room with my Mum and Dad. Yep! I had absolutely no privacy as a baby! 😉

It makes me smile now, because every single midnight, my Dad would pick me up, hold me in his arms and walk me up and down the hallway and sing me lullabies until I started laughing again. The reason why this makes me smile is because I think that so often in life, especially as we grow older, these distant memories of our parents showing these moments of love become nothing more than a figment at the back of our minds.

The frustrations of the world overcome as, and where we were once so happy to get a cuddle from our parents who raised us, we now can’t wait to just push our parents to the sides as we become more ‘independent’. Of course, not every single child has the luxury of having wonderful parent(s), but honoring our parents is something that we should still all strive to do.

But what does it mean to honor your parents as young women? And while we are no longer kids living under our parent’s roofs, what does it look like to honor our parents and how do you go about honoring your parents?

What Does it Mean to Honor Your Parents as Young Women?

What Does it Mean to Honor Your Parents #1: Practicing the Fruits of the Spirit

Have you ever had a discussion with your Mum or your Dad and just felt so incredibly frustrated by the end of it that you almost felt like you were no longer yourself? That’s so normal, but at the same time, it is saddening that this is considered the norm! When you were feeling exasperated with your parents, were you trying to practice the different fruits of the Spirit?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23

I think that it is far easier to practice all these fruits of the Spirit with people we don’t know, but when it comes to our own parents, for some reason, it becomes so much harder. It is likely due to a mesh of the following reasons… a) pent up frustrations of years of not being understood, b) you aren’t seeking to impress your parents as much as you are trying to look your best in front of others and c) they have unintentionally caused you hurt time and time again

It might be weird to say, but I am actually smiling at this point because this just reaffirms my belief that only hurt people hurt people. So, when it comes to knowing what it means to honor your parents, one of the greatest ways we can honor them as young women would be to show the fruits of the spirit to someone who, like you, has been hurt by others.

What Does it Mean to Honor Your Parents #2: Remembering that We are No Different From Our Parents

At the end of the day, God says that we are children of the light (Ephesians 5:8), worth dying for (1 John 4:9-10), made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), then our parents are too 🌻

It is so easy to try and put our parents on a pedestal where we expect them to be a certain way. It is also so common for many of us to fall into the trap of believing that only if our parents reached a certain ‘threshold’ of ‘good’ parenting that they would be worth the effort of ‘intentional’ honoring. But in reality, like you and me, perfection will never be achieved by your parents.

And if they are facing so much stress from the outside world (just like us), how hard must it be for them to come home to children judging them for not being perfect?

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What Does it Mean to Honor Your Parents #3: Show Grace Even When it is Undeserved

I am about to lay down a truth bomb on ya! It is inevitable that all parents will fall short in some way or the other. That is just the way a fallen world works, and like you and me, they too rely on the grace of God to receive salvation. WHOA! What brand new news this must be to ya! 😉 So when you and I both know that we received undeserved grace from our Father in heaven, how could we be like the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35) and after receiving the gift of forgiveness and mercy, refuse to have mercy on our parents?

With the story of the unmerciful servant in mind, how could we withhold showing that same grace to our parents? And in a world where your parents are likely feeling the same amount of stresses as you from the outside world, what could be more honoring to them than to have you show them that patient, forgiving and merciful, Christ-like love?

—> You might like this: Psalm 23 In-Depth Bible Study about God’s Love (+ free downloadable Bible Study!)

What Does it Mean to Honor Your Parents #4: Esteem Them Publicly and Privately

Every single time I give praise to my Dad on his cooking, or my Mum to her mad organizational skills, their eyes light up. They begin feeling like they are being seen and appreciated for who they are. And how sweet is that!

Parents love to know that they have had some form of positive influence or impact in their children’s lives. They love it when they can see bits and pieces of themselves infiltrated in their children. That is why so many parents say things like, ‘she gets it from me’!

Nothing builds a parent up more and feels more honoring to them than having their child acknowledge both privately and publicly that they have been a positive influence in their life.

But on the flip side, it is also very important to be super careful with the words you speak over your parents too – whether it is to them or about them to others. It can be hard when you are feeling frustrated and you need to vent, but in these moments remember the points mentioned above and show them grace! And if there is truly nothing possibly pleasant to say about your parents, according to the Word of God it is still very important to avoid allowing disrespectful words about your parents from being spoken.

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ – Matthew 15:3-4

What Does it Mean to Honor Your Parents #5: Support Them

Something that I think of is how the roles reverse as we grow older. When our parents were young, they raised us as their dependents and as we grew older, we were trained to be more independent and find our own two feet. But as our parents grow old and grey, their strength diminishes and no longer are they as capable of being independent. (Ecclesiastes 12:1-8) The roles have reversed!

So one of the best possible ways that we can honor our father and mother would be to reassure them that even as they grow old and feeble, that they are still valued and esteemed in our eyes. We should let them know that even though they can no longer offer us the benefits that we reaped while we were children, that we won’t just forsake them in their old age! And that supporting them is as much of a source of joy for us as it was for them when we were dependent on them!

Click the image below to grab your FREE 20+ page devotional on How to Find Your Identity in Christ! And join the Truthfully, Michelle community for Biblical encouragement and personal deep chats straight into your inbox!

Hey! Here Are Other Resources…

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … Signs of a Lukewarm Christian | Jesus Didn’t Die for You to Be Ashamed of Him

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … How to Share Your Testimony When You Don’t Know What to Say

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … 6 Characteristics of a Godly Friendship

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … How Keeping Your Life PG-Rated Grows Your Relationship with God

or browse the blog HERE!

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Before you go…

There are times where I fall short in honoring my parents like every other child, but at the end of the day, God calls us to honor our parents as the outflow of honoring him. He calls us to be His children who respect his sovereignty by respecting the parents he saw fit to give us!

So drop a comment below and let me know what you think honoring your parents looks like as a young woman in the 21st century! Let’s start a discussion!

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