Before I get to today's topic, let me give a shout out to Vanessa over at Butterfly Reflections. So far, she's the only blogger (that I'm aware of) to accept the challenge. She's a day behind me, so head over to her blog to get caught up on her thoughts about the challenge.
Today's topic, if you didn't notice from the title, is Something I Feel Strongly About.
There was a time when an answer to this would not have come easy to me. There were a few years, more than I care to admit, where I just had little to no passion about anything in my life. I was numb to most things, basically just floating along wherever life took me. It's kind of miserable. I saw a bumper sticker once that said, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." Sounds kind of cheesy, but it's possible that there's some truth to that.
Life is different now. I'm in a position where I work, on a daily basis, with little kids who don't seem to have been given a fair shot at things. I know, there's no such thing as a fair shot. Life isn't fair. But working in a school, working with teachers, working as a counselor, working in ministry... these things have given me a certain passion for kids. It's frustrating and heartbreaking, but I have this intense need to stand up for children, especially when they aren't able to stand for themselves.
That's been pretty vague, right? So what is it about these kids that I feel so strongly about?
I'm not a parent. I don't have kids of my own. So a lot of the time, I look at what real parents are doing and I think about how I would do it differently (or the same) if I were in their shoes. In my day job, I see a lot at the low end of the parenting spectrum. I see parents who don't care about their kids in the way that their kids want to be cared about. I see kids who are hurting and just want to be loved, but they've been born to people who, for whatever reason, don't have it in them to be responsible enough to show the love their children so desperately desire.
So I feel strongly about the welfare of those kids. As adults... As the people who are in the best position to make this world a better place, it's our responsibility to do just that for the next generation. They can't do it for themselves. And if all they see in the adults around them is that it's okay to be lazy and apathetic toward the world at large, that's what they'll grow up to be as well.
I also feel strongly about the education we're providing for that next generation. School funding gets cut here and there and few people stand up and take notice. A lot of the time, it seems like the few that do notice just don't care. Again, a problem that we, the grown-ups, should be very concerned about. So many people can get on Facebook or Twitter and shout about climate change and social injustice, but no one is taking the time to teach our young people how to make an impact on their world. They see your rambling status updates and grow up believing that typing in 140 characters or less is the perfect way to change the world, one tweet at a time. That's just not how it works.
Parents, I beg of you, take an interest in your children. Take an interest in what they're interested in. Take an interest in what they're learning, both in and out of school. Invest in them every chance you get. It will pay dividends down the road. Not just to you, but to their community... to the world.
I have so many thoughts on this post, too many to share here. I will simply say that you have a beautiful heart towards these kids and they are blessed to have you involved in their lives, no matter how much or little that is.
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