Isaac stood in the middle of the living room this morning and took 2 steps with proud parents cheering him on from the couch. I had this immediate "uh-oh" feeling as I watched my almost 10 month old son try out this thing called 'walking'. It is so thrilling to watch your child learn a new skill and realize that somehow you are a part of that. It is also a little scary to think of what having this skill means. More chasing, more exhaustion, more curiousity...
I think about the future and the countless other skills Isaac will learn. What an honor to be a part of his life and his learning. I can go through so many days without realizing the weighty responsibility of being a parent, but today it hit me again. As Isaac begins to explore his world a little more, I want to encouarge his curious mind, but protect him from the things that can harm him. Right now, those things are pretty concrete - stairs, outlets, cords, our crazy swinging door, etc. As he gets older there is a line between protecting him and sheltering him that I imagine will sometimes be difficult to distinquish.
Rick & Scott were talking on the radio yesterday about media's influence on teenagers. A dad called in who only allows his children to listen to Christian or classical music and moniters what they watch like a hawk. If you know Marc, you know that the idea of Christian music only will NOT fly in our house. Nor would I want it to. There is so much more out there.
I once showed a brief clip of 'The Bourne Identity' in our high school youth group at Sunshine. I had a parent come in to yell and cry because her 15 year old son went out and watched the movie after seeing the clip. She didn't allow him to watch PG-13 movies, and this parent could not believe I would show a clip from that in youth group! It didnt' matter that I was relating Bournes lack of identity to our secure identity in Christ...I showed 4 minutes of a PG-13 movie! Granted, she has great kids, but um....sheltered much?
Anyhow, don't we believe that God is Sovereign and a God of redemption? There are redeeming qualities about "secular" music, movies, art, etc.
Marc I'm sure could say so much more about this, and much more thought out, but these are a few of my thoughts as I look at parenting Isaac as he grows.
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2 comments:
profound. thanks
i'm going to quote exactly what my grandmother told my mother when i started walking,...
"trip her."
something about once children start to walk, you do nothing but chase them. Ha Ha, though you would enjoy this.
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