Our kids are being sacrificed. I am back on my soapbox again this morning, so if you want to by-pass until a feel-good post shows, check back tomorrow. Today, I am venting. I am tired again. Tired of parents not stepping up to the plate and being grown ups. And our kids don’t stand a chance. “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” It doesn’t happen by accident. It requires active training. It also requires the most sacrificial, unconditional love humans can give. I am convinced the self-serving world we live in is the problem. Even parents are feeling like they deserve to be put ahead of their kids, and their self gratification wins. They leave their kids and pursue careers that don’t allow enough time for their children. They get tired of parenting and decide they don’t owe their kids their unconditional love, their attention, their guidance, and their time. It may not be a conscious decision but it happens when people get too wrapped up in themselves and forget what really is important.
It’s amazing kids are growing up at all, and some aren’t. Some are paralyzed in a state of self serving survival mode that is the direct result of parents not giving strong and loving guidance through the years. You only have to look as far as the self indulged Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Nicole Richey to see kids gone wild without any sense of responsibility for their bad behavior. In all fairness, I did see an interview with Nicole Richey that gives me some hope, but I’ll reserve that accolade for some time after she has proven herself back on track. Not sure what went wrong in their lives, and I haven’t walked in those shoes of too much too young, but good decisions come from good values. Good values generally come from level headed kids that feel a responsibility and have goals for their lives and for the world they live in. This doesn’t happen without a lot of work. Parents have to start young and be there for them. We have to know what our kids need, what they don’t, and not worry about being their best friend but be real parents to them—maybe longer than we think. I will always be a mom to my kids, even though they are grown. I can’t help it. It’s still my job. The job description has changed somewhat, but it still is part of what I do. At this point I have to trust that what we instilled in our children will be part of their lives, and trust that God did a good job with them through us. I have to believe in them that they will make the right choices and remember it is their lives, but be there when they need me or ask for advice. I have to trust that they are in good Hands and we have done our job, our part, and they are on the right track. I have to love them without restraint and let them know that they can’t go too far that we won’t be there for them. My grown kids are working toward professional careers, and I still spend a lot of time encouraging them to have balance in their lives, to save room for family. When it’s all said and done, our relationships are what matter. Hopefully, how well we have loved will have left its mark on the world and our legacy will be that the society that was entrusted to us to convey Christ’s unconditional love was not abandoned or misused. And should the Lord tarry, may the next generations do the same.