Thursday, May 10, 2012

Do I Matter?

I have taken a breather from blogging and immersed myself in research for homeschooling next year.  I am enthusiastic and a little frightened about entering the high school phase with Boy Becoming Man, while teaching my middle and elementary school girls, but we seem to figure things out as we go.  Preparation and flexibility: my motto. 

A worthy topic has captured my heart and pulled my attention away from the Ancient History syllabus and Biology labs: three teen suicides in one week in my area of Minnesota, with much buzz about bullies, school responsibility, and social media. 

My heart aches.  I want to shake everyone, from the precious child about to end her life, to the parents, the administrators, the media.  Don't you understand?  What lies beneath it all is a lack of understanding of the value of your soul.  I would throw every school book to the wind if I knew my kids were wondering, "Do I matter?"

My job as parent and teacher would be worthless if I could not tell my kids over and over:  you were created by a loving God, you have a purpose in this world, you have access to God's mighty power and healing comfort, you were designed to reflect His glory. 

But so many parents don't tell their kids this.  They don't believe it themselves.  Public school personnel can't say it, whether they believe it or not (though the good ones do!)  Children can't hear it enough.  So they believe the lies from their peers, the media, themselves. 

I get it.  I grew up believing my value came from pleasing others and succeeding in the task before me.  I craved male attention.  I see in my children something different.  A solidness, even as they experiment with fashion and music and figure out their talents and interests.  I know there is and will be wrestlings, wanderings, and mistakes made, but we have given them a foundation that is not made of the shifting sands of the world.

On Christ the solid rock I stand.

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