Mission Monthly Newsletter November 2001

...Meditate on These Things. Phillipians 4.8

"A child who has the experience of being ‘loved into existence’ is secure about the goodness of life, and of his own life in particular. Surrounded by loving relationships, he can take for granted that he is glad to be alive. This is the surest basis for confidence in God as loving Father and Creator."

            Sister Magdalen

     I am forty-one years old and only on the front end of my life as a parent.  Our first child is quickly approaching the age of one.  The front end, however, doesn’t lessen the fact that it is still the “front line” of human development.  I am fully engaged in this struggle and often I feel unworthy to be responsible for the life of an innocent child who looks to his mother and me for virtually everything.  We are responsible to love him and to teach him how to love, to provide for his basic needs, and to establish and nurture his Christian faith and salvation.

     In particular it seems that the distracted and sensually overloaded world we are living in causes tragic and unnecessary difficulties to the process of raising Godly, thankful and secure children.  This is shown in current medical and psychological statistics which reveal growing trends of negative health problems being experienced especially by our children.  Two of the most significant health concerns are depression and obesity.

     The causes of these concerns undoubtedly are many and much too complex to examine in a short meditation.  I am certain, however, that we can explore the hopeful actions of prevention as we affirm our desires to give our children the most important gift of all, the true sense of God’s gift of life and a true sense of thankfulness which always precedes a healthy spiritual, emotional and physical life.

     One of the most significant conflicts I see in the responsibility of caring for a child is the issue of time.  I remember many times as a kid my parents lamenting saying, “People just don’t visit or make time for each other anymore.”  My mother’s greatest lament was the television which, looking back, probably was a great source of distraction in my house.  We certainly were not the only ones.  Society was in the midst of a major change exemplified in the lost, simple art of dinner conversation being smothered by the prime-time rush to “Must See TV.”  Even more disturbing, however, is the growing silence and alienation in human interaction that has resulted from the “enlightened advancements” of material pursuits, career potentials, technological toys, and multi-media entertainment and marketing.  The absorbing nature of self interest, what ever it might be, often can and does leave little time for the real loving action of giving oneself to the real needs of those we love.

     It is upsetting to see someone held captive by insecurity and resentment resulting from the imperfect love and the disaffirmation of our fallen selves.  It takes great effort to be consistent in our love and true in our giving.  As I think about my son and what I hope for him as a boy and eventually as a man I can only hope that my own selfishness does not interfere with

the communication of our love and thankfulness for each other.  As I think about my relationship with my wife, my family, my Christian family, my friendships, my co-workers or with any person God may bring into my life on a day to day basis, I hope and pray that I am willing and able to do the same.

     I have wonderful parents.  They were abundant in their love and firm in their discipline.  I believe that it was from them that I received a more stable sense of myself, certainly enough of a sense to work at giving it away again to God as He forms me as a man and as His child.  I don’t know if my parents ever thought in terms of showing their children that they were “loved into existence.”  Thankfully, that’s exactly how I feel!  Can you imagine how well our children would grow if we as parents could actually communicate this depth of love?  Can you imagine how our world would be if we could do that for each other?