Saturday, January 31, 2015

While everyone is asleep....

So I'm sitting here in bed while my wife and kids are in bed snoozing the night away, and it dawns on me... I can't go to sleep until I feel everyone including my dog is safe. My wife toss and turns, the dog is snoring and I feel at peace. The fact that I know they are safe is calming to me. So, I begin thinking about why that is and I come to this conclusion.

The fact that I feel so safe is because I didn't feel safe as a kid and want my family to be safe. It's when you as a parent say that you don't want your kids to go through the same thing you did. If there was ever a fact in life that was absolutely true other than the word of God it is this... We don't want our kids to go through anything that could cause them any harm. So I bring in this into question, when does protecting them go too far into overly sheltering them. If our kids don't experience some sort of "pain" (for lack of a better word) how will they learn to overcome. It's like it says in Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10 NKJV) 

Now, affliction is nor doesn't have to be as extreme as the word itself sounds. Affliction (as defined by dictionary.com) is a state of pain, distress, or grief;misery. (Again not as horrible as you read it) pain can be as small as a tiny scratch on your finger to (well the extreme case of) falling from a ten foot story building and breaking every bone in your body and living. (Wow just thinking of it hurts) So affliction to a kid can be just being frustrated in not being able to remember something they wanted to tell you, or even you changing the dinner menu on them from Mac and cheese to spaghetti and meatballs.

Affliction, an amazing thing that breaks down the barriers of ignorance and foolishness. It polishes our very being, forms our persona, trains our thoughts, and lastly establishes who we are to become. To take the pains of failure and use that pain to form a better YOU or YOUR KID. For instance, many of you have your kids in some form of sports, and we can all say that as dads or as parents it's cool to watch your kid win. (Not to poke fun at those who play sports and don't keep score. Nothing wrong with "thanks for participating" lol) Yet on the flip side watching them lose is tough on you just as it is on them.

There's a bright side to it though. Losing makes you do better. You try harder to make sure you win next time. You stir up your resolve, and gather your wits about you and push yourself beyond your mental limitations to become better. So let it be known... There is nothing wrong with a little pain, a little suffering and a little hardship. We can't always protect those we love from danger, what we can do is to be prepared to get back up and keep going.

This up and coming generation is becoming desensitized to the reality of hardship. Having to be politically correct or tolerant or sensitive to that which society has deemed untouchable has created a huge margin for people having to sacrifice what's right and be under-developed in the reality that not everyone is going to cater to you whether you lose or whether treating you different because you feel different. (Run on sentence lol) in a team, everyone has to train, everyone has to do their best, NO ONE is excluded. In life, it's exactly the same way. Everyone has to do their best and get up and do what is necessary to triumph over their adversity. 

I end with this, everyone is special but no one is unique anymore. To be unique is to go against the grain, now a days everyone is trying to be unique that they ended up being like everyone else. Do what's right, not what's hip or in fashion etc. teach your kids the truth and stop trying to shelter them. 

I may not be the best but I try and this is just my belief. Have a blessed day


No comments:

Post a Comment

PLACE YOUR RESPONSE HERE!