If there is one thing my heart grows heavy of each and every single day, it is being away from our children. Each waking moment in the morning stabs a conviction in my heart that I have sinned by not having them with us. It was a decision we made when we focused on what we can achieve in this life. We had to sacrifice time with the children just so we can work and earn enough money for the many dreams we have for the family. All this led to having to decide to leave the kids with my parents in the Philippines while me and my hubby work for some time here in the states. As parents we thought that if we could both have decent jobs and earn a good income, we could easily take care of all our family's financial problems. And since the kids become an obstacle to getting to our goal in a short time, we decided to sacrifice them for now and leave them to be cared for by others. Not that I don't have the gratitude towards my parents who lovingly opened up their home to accommodate the kids, but I was just crushed with the conviction that it is MY duty to take care of them.
In Deuteronomy chapters 6 & 11, parents have clearly been commanded to TEACH & IMPRESS the commandments God has given us. We parents are to talk about them when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up. All these are clear commands to teach our children in the way they should go. It is our responsibility (and accountability to God) as parents to lead our children in the teachings and ways of the Lord. The bible tells us to TRAIN them in the way they should go so that when they are old they shall not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).
How then can such be the case when children are separated from their parents because of work and careers? A lot of people may consider me radical, but this is my view of parenting. Every day I'm away from my children I sin against God for not teaching them and impressing them and training them in Godly ways.
I guess the world's offer of security is so great of an enticement to us that if we do not become careful of our walk, we will succumb eventually to its power. I hope and pray that one day my family will come to the point where our only security is God, so I do hope and pray that families will one day heed this commandment for parents to be there for their children to teach them and train them.I pray for parents to one day realize that the only thing that matters in the end is the investment we put in for somebody else's life, most especially for our children's lives! God have mercy on parents like me who sacrificed time and the children themselves in order to run after security in this world. May God open up the eyes of our hearts so that we may see that HE alone is the source of our everything.
The world and everything in it has led men and women into thinking that it is a MUST to have both parents work and to prioritize security above all else. We have allowed ourselves to be drowned by the ideals of feminism of empowering women to become successful in their careers because stay-at-home moms just aren't the right thing anymore. I guess that is why we also see the greatest decline in our society these days because most of us have failed to train up our children in ways that they should go.
If there's one career I would want to see myself succeed in, it would be as a Christian mom to our children. This is all I wish for... my own radical parenting.
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