Train Up a Child

Orchids Galore! Ginter Botanical Garden. Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Wise son - glad father;

Stupid son - sad mother.

Proverbs 10:1 

The dynamics within a family are an absolute mystery to me.  How can a set of children grow up with the same mother and father, the same socio-economic conditions, the same schools, the same playmates, and yet turn out so incredibly different - from each other, from their parents, from the culture in which they were raised.  As parents, we try to pass on to our children our core values, beliefs and faith.  Although some of that "sticks," a great deal does not.  My oldest daughter said to me one time, "Mom, you act as though we didn't hear what you said.  We heard you, but that does not mean that we agreed with you, or that we believe the same way."

I have a good friend who has two children.  The daughter is a successful businesswoman, and the son is an alcoholic and a drifter.  I have another friend with three children: one daughter lives an alternative lifestyle, the son is heavily involved in sowing his wild oats, and the other daughter struggles every day with major depression.  All five of these children were raised in the church; not one of them would think of darkening the door of one now.

The temptations that confronted my generation are as nothing compared to what my children faced, and theirs will pale in comparison to what will confront their children.  All we can do as parents is our best.  That sounds woefully inadequate, but it is the honest truth.  We teach faith, integrity, and responsibility, then open our hands and let wings take flight.  As we watch our children establish their own lives, our hearts turn to patience, hope and prayer - lots of prayer.