Wednesday, August 3
I am more and more convinced that I need to consciously seek role models for each of my children as they go through their childhood and teenage years. It is so vitally important that, at each stage of their development, they have Christian men and women (other than their daddy and myself) in their lives who can show them the face of God through their actions and lifestyle.So many days, it feels to me like the world is all upside down, topsy-turvy, not-quite-right. Men and women doing evil deeds are rewarded while good men and women are harmed for someone else's gain. Honesty is a seemingly lost virtue. Personal ethics are shady, at best, in many cases, and the concepts of right and wrong seem to be on a sliding scale. Looking at all of the things in our world today, I understand how people become disheartened, discouraged.
And I know without a doubt that we need to first look to Christ himself as our model. But so many times we need (at least I do) to put a human face to the ideas we study. With such poor role models in such abundance, I think it's vital that I try to give my children good ones, too.
We need to have examples in our lives of people living these difficult lives but still maintaining their dignity, of people making the hard but proper choices, of people struggling but still remaining true to themselves and their Lord.
Griff's current aftercare arrangement (during the schoolyear) is more expensive than another option we have, but it allows us to hand-pick a young man to spend lots of time with our son. The way the two of them interact, even in the little things like watching television and playing video games, will give Griff a glimpse of ways that young men should act and how they should carry themselves. And that's important.
I am beginning to pray that God be preparing people to minister to my children as mentors, that He be developing in them traits that will benefit my Griff and Eliza. And, in all honesty, that will benefit us all as a family. I pray, too, that God will use us in the lives of these men and women. Isn't that the most I can ask for... that God use me for His purposes?
[ posted by Chel on Wednesday, August 03, 2005 ]
[ 0 comments ]