God made everyone different, and that includes our children.

Lucille Williams is a national speaker who has ministered to couples and families for more than 25 years. She is also the author of The Impossible Kid: Parenting a Strong-Willed Child with Love and Grace.   

She says that parents honour and value their children when they learn to respect their different personalities created by God and learn to walk alongside them.

"I think sometimes we see their differences as disobedience, and we misinterpret what they're doing," said Lucille. 

She says it is important to embrace differences and refrain from comparing our parenting to others and comparing our kids to other kids.

"To compare what's going on with our family with other families, it is just not fair to do that to yourself because you don't know what's going on in that family because you just see a snippet when you're out in public or at their house for dinner," Lucille explains. "You have to stay in your lane and go this is my child, this is how they are, and that's what matters. 

Lucille says it is important to embrace the fact that God chose each set of parents specifically for their children.

"Depending upon the makeup of the child, they put so much pressure on themselves, and then they release it on us because they think they've disappointed us," Lucille explains. "If we as parents know that our kids don't want to disappoint us and that they are trying to make us proud, then we can get to the heart of what's going on, and that's where they are going to thrive." 

Today on Connections, Lucille shares how we can begin walking alongside our children and embrace their differences.