Check out Part One (before or after, no big deal)
I know as a mother that there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my children. It’s how we are hardwired, it is how we are made. We all want to see our children succeed, to propel further than we ever did. I know I worry, but I also know that worrying is of no use, so in addition to worry I educate them. I teach them everything I can possibly think of to teach them and then I teach them some more.
And, as far as I’m concerned, spiritual education is more important than any other education.
Morality, the ability to discern right from wrong, the willingness to never let fear govern your actions are all more important than “subjects”, don’t you think?
Our roadschooling curriculum spends more time on politics/current events and religion than any other subjects. These two subjects incorporate many of the other subjects, history, reading, social studies, gov’t, etc. as cliff notes, but serve the ultimate purpose of preparing our children for their true mission … getting to heaven.
We need to nurture their hearts, minds and souls for a life filled with love and hope, a mind for God’s word and strength and power to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.
Politics and current events serve as an opportunity to discuss compassion, JOY, suffering, evil and martyrdom. It enables our kids to see in real life what evil looks like, as well as what strength really is …
Parents are busy, no doubt. We are overscheduled, understaffed and unprepared. But there is nothing more important than the spiritual care of our children.
We are ridiculously overprotective and we plan and plot our children’s lives, their successes to the point where they are mere pawns in their own lives. We hold their hands and regulate everything around them in an attempt to protect their physical and emotional being..
We control their academic, extracurricular, and professional young lives as though they were our own. Which is really where the problem lies, right? We are so controlling over every aspect of our children’s lives because our own egos hang in the balance.
Our kid is going to be the star. So from the moment they can walk, we are on them like glue to throw well, catch well, tackle well and kick well.
Our kid is going to be the valedictorian. So from the moment they are born we are on them like glue to memorize, study, and read about all the “subjects”. We force them into extra-curricular clubs they don’t even like in order to round out their high school transcript. We make them volunteer at the appropriate charities, we arrange for internships at the impressive govt agency, and we even choose their friends.
It’s understandable. We all want our kids to succeed, to have it easier than we did, to go further than we did. And so, we have a tendency to make their goals for them. Maybe they are the things we wanted, but never really got there, maybe our kids show interest, promise, but we push and push … this just isn’t fair.
Of course, it’s great to introduce your kids to a sport or an extracurricular activity that you love, something you can do together, and it’s fun to watch them progress faster than you ever did, because that’s the nature of kids. But when we start planning their lives around a goal we have set, we are over-reaching.
And, it’s funny that the things we tend to focus on are the things others see. The things we get acknowledgement for…the all-star basketball player, the regional swimming champion, the traveling team soccer player, the spelling bee champ, the scholarship to MIT…
But when it comes to spirituality, we let them fend for themselves. We stay away from religion, we stay away from morality, we stay away from the things that really matter.
If you want an abortion, ok. If you want to change your gender, ok. If you want to be atheist, ok.
But if you want to be a teacher, hell no! You are going to med school or law school. You want to go to the local Community College? You’re crazy, you are going to UCLA!
We have to realize these things, these accomplishments don’t make us a better parent. And most of these accomplishments are short lived and short sighted. Ask yourself who the State Championship School was last year? Who was their QB? How about the SuperBowl? Do you even remember who won the SuperBowl last year? Let alone 5 years ago?
We have to stop looking to our kids for validation, they are NOT extensions of us. They are our children and we need to be their parents, which means we are there for them, to help facilitate their hopes and dreams. It means we have to give them the foundation upon which to stand as they reach for the stars, the moral compass to follow the right path, and the strength to never let fear of being different govern their actions.
Today, someone I admire, someone I respect, Emily Dixon, answered a question and in her answer she said, and I quote “If you read Hebrews 11, all the heroes of faith, so few of them saw the fulfillment of God’s promises to them personally, but their children did! And sometimes I think that’s who we dream for, who we fight for when we are chasing the dreams He gives us.”
She’s right, you know. Once we become parents we begin living for our children. Preparing their future.
Education is one of the most important gift, outside of family, that we can give our kids. And, I’m not talking about the education you find in schools, that’s a dime a dozen. With the advent of the Internet, all anyone needs to do is Google and they can learn how to do an algebra problem or conjugate a sentence or even study for the SAT’s, even learn a new language.
But, the kind of education I’m talking about is that which saves souls and defeats death.
Part One was really really awesome … don’t miss it!! 😉