And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood. – Ezekiel 16:20-22
It will seem the world we live in now demands dual income families which means both parents have to hold down a job. The cost of living has risen dramatically over the years. We also want to be able to afford more and to have more so we work twice as hard for the material things of life. There was a time when I only spent a couple of hours a day with my children during the week. I would drop them at school at 7 a.m. and not come back for them until 6 p.m. (on a good day!). It looked like we only really saw each other on weekends. In between the rush in the morning to get ready and dinner/homework time at night, we managed to exchange a few sentences but that was pretty much the extent of it. I felt a tad bit of comfort because I made a conscious choice to place my children in Christian private education so I knew that the instruction they were getting was close to what I was giving them at home but at the same time, I believed deep down that I wasn’t doing enough to spend quality time with my children. I started to think that my children were spending more time with teachers and caregivers than with me.
Parenting is such a huge responsibility. We are to groom our children, instructing them in the way of the Lord and teaching them about the importance of prayer and holy living. Whether we work all day or not, we are to instruct them spiritually as we drive them to school and as we bring them home. We are to ensure that we are practicing what we are preaching. It does not good to send them to Christian schools or preach to them when the atmosphere in our home is contrary to what we are saying. Work and money has it place but higher on the lists of priorities are our children and family life. I am grateful to God that I have had the opportunity to spend quality time with my children in the last five months. It has been great talking with my teenage daughter and finding out what her opinions are on a wide range of issues and boy - does she have her own opinions!
Who’s really raising your children? How much time do you spend with them? Do you really know you children – I mean really talk to them to find out what is going on in their heads?
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