Christ First Forum

[i]"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he

is old he will not depart from it."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


It's an old story that we've all read about, but it's

a good reminder as found in the following parable

about "a new mother who discovered a butterfly

struggling mightily to escape its cocoon through a

tiny opening at the top. She became concerned when the

creature seemed to give up after making no progress.

Certain that the butterfly wouldn't make it out

without help, she enlarged the hole slightly.



"On its next try, the butterfly wriggled out easily.

But the young woman's joy turned to horror as she saw

its wings were shriveled and useless. Her

well-intentioned intervention turned out badly because

it interrupted a natural process. You see, forcing the

butterfly to squeeze through a small opening is

nature's way of assuring that blood from the

creature's body is pushed into the wings. By making it

easier, she deprived the butterfly of strong wings."



The same thing happens to children when parents

over-protect them by doing too much for them, by

spoiling them, or doing for them what they can and

need to do for themselves, and by making decisions for

them that they are capable of and need to be making

themselves.



There can be a fine line knowing when to hang on and

when to let go, but it's important to realize that, as

parents, it is our responsibility to train up our

children so that by the time they come to adulthood,

they are capable of and responsible for taking care of

themselves and are healthy, interdependent adults.

True, good parenting requires parents to protect their

children from harm, but being overprotective can cause

children to grow up being emotionally immature or even

emotionally crippled.



It's the struggles of life that make all of us strong

and healthy. As blind and deaf Helen Keller once said,

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only

through experience of trial and suffering can the soul

be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and

success achieved."

Stu
k5stu@sbcglobal.net
http://sharkclub.org/
[/i]

Good post, Jeani. So much truth in there.

Seems like you have been successful in 'training up a child' with your son...

You can be soo close to him because y'all both are Christians...

How Sweet.....

Amazing how we always think we no more and better than God.
What a perfect example of our falling away.