Build Strong Children

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. ~Frederick Douglass

I am on a hotel balcony looking into the room where two of my children play. I recall this quote twittered today by a friend. It is surreal to watch my family doing life on the other side of glass. I have written about this before...watching my family through a window. I cannot hear what is being said. The dynamic changes when one of my senses is disengaged. What I see is magnified. The smiles, the silent laughter, the eye contact between a brother and a sister.

Tonight Promise has agreed to Jett's request to play. She has chosen a theme he loves: Batman. She has drawn the Joker on a pizza box top and dressed Jett in his favorite Batman costume. Jett watches PJ intently as she explains the rules, which simply are...punch Joker. Why are they are having such fun together? Because one has chosen selflessly to play what the other likes.

Love really is an easy choice. It's not necessary that we always be doing something that is centered around self. Why don't we as parents teach our children to love, give and share on the front side of life? Wouldn't we be setting them up for success as adults? It's not as impossible as culture tells us. If we listen to the loudest voices around us, we hear, "children are a hassle", "motherhood is a burden - certainly not a career choice worth pursuing." But if you were to step out of range of that voice, even momentarily, your ears would ring with the song of the family (borrowed from The Pearl). Listen intently to the Mother Heart within you, and you will question culture. Allow your ear to be drawn and you will pursue something above the status quo. You will not pursue in vain!