71. Have Confidence

"The confident parent

is not the one who knows

how to parent in every situation.

The confident parent

is the one who knows

that knowledge will emerge

in the midst of the situation.

This parent's mind

is free of complications,

ready to respond

without preconceptions.

This parent will always act rightly.

My confidence in the future

for my children,

and for me,

exists because I know

we are all part of the Tao.

Come good and bad,

life and death,

that will always be true.

Somehow I will know,

when the time comes,

exactly what to do."

I was telling a friend recently about how, since I became a parent, I feel not only more trust in God, but also that God trusts me, too. I wish I had learned sooner how to be receptive to that. I'm sure the fact that I wasn't is tied to the other big lessons I've learned recently about how trust isn't and cannot be a one-way street. It will be a while before my family and I have fully recovered from trusting the wrong people, but the best way I know to heal is to learn to trust myself again. My daughter gives me a unique opportunity to do that every day, and I'm so grateful.