CHIDLREN . . . LEARN . . . FROM THEIR PARENTES.
As I write this, it is quite late and all in our house is peaceful. Two dogs lay at my feet wondering what I’m typing at midnight. A few hours ago, as I mowed he back yard, I noticed two of our blessed VBS volunteers placing a sign in the church yard promoting Bible School, which begins in two days. “All Aboooooard!” The St. Paul-Ingam Okoboji Lutheran VBS-Day Camp Express is about to take off! We rejoice in the lively energy that abounds each year during VBS. MANY THANKS to all of you who help!
Speaking of kids and learning, I read this the other day in a doctor’s waiting room: A young, single, math teacher, new to town and wanting to fit in, agreed to baby-sit while her new friend went shopping, left her this note: “Dried tears 11 times... tied shoelaces 15 times... blew up balloons, 5 per child... warned kids not to cross the street 26 times... kids insisted on crossing the street 26 times. Number of Saturdays I'll volunteer to do this again - Zero!” I suppose parents through the ages can identify with this young woman’s declaration.
Recently I visited with a mom as we noted the perils of parenthood. While we could compare notes (especially on teenagers!), we all know that each context is different from family to family, and so generalizations often come up short. “Could someone, please, just give me the final answers to parenting? ALL of them? How to respond and what to do and what to say and when to say it and do it? For a long, long time, Marion E. Kinneman’s “Beatitudes for Parents” have served as a response.
She wrote them about 50 years ago when her daughters were raising her six grandsons. They’re not the final answer to parenting, but you can cherish them as a dose of wisdom worth re-reading as often as possible, because they're still spot-on!
Blessed are those who make peace with spilled milk and mud, for of such is the kingdom of childhood.
Blessed is the parent who engages not in the comparison of his child with others, for precious unto each is the rhythm of his own growth.
Blessed are those who have learned to laugh, for it's the music of a child's world.
Blessed and mature are those who without anger can say 'No,' for comforting to a child is the security of firm decisions.
Blessed is the gift of consistency, for it brings heart's-ease in childhood.
Blessed are they who accept the awkwardness of growth, for they are aware of the choice between marred furnishings and damaged personalities.
Blessed are the teachable, for knowledge brings understanding and understanding brings love.
Blessed are the men and women, who in the midst of the unpromising mundane, give love, for they bestow the greatest of all gifts to each other, to their children, and, in an ever-widening circle, to their fellowmen.
One successful businessman once said, “I may be a self-made man, but the blueprints came from my mom and dad.” What blueprint are you using ?
St. Paul offers this: “Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents” (Ephesians 5:1) [The Message]
