I'm going to try not to grumble/ramble but I have been astonished in the last day to overhear some mothers I know complain about their children facing reality. I don't mean reality like they all of a sudden were in a war zone, I mean reality like one child was made fun of at school, another child stopped believing in fairies. What is it about American culture (or Virginian culture?) that makes people want their children to be so sheltered? Do we really think children are so feeble minded that they need to live in a dream world? It irks me. How can we hear about what happened in France with the terrorist attacks and then worry about our 6th grader being made fun of? Okay, so I know I'm not being very sympathetic and what is big to one person is different depending on the situation. However, it's discouraging to me to see people cling to their cotton-candy versions of reality for their children instead of realizing that reality is sometimes harsh/and/or not fairyland but it is also the difficulty of reality that develops true character and the real world is also just as wondrous as any fairy tale story that we could tell our children.
Sadly, I think this desire to shelter/hide our children from hard things/and/or truth is a symptom of the sick sentimentality of our culture that is worshiped. We want our "american dream" so to speak. We want to pretend that "we make our own reality" which is far from actuality. There are always going to be terrible things that happen. There are going to be people that challenge us (and perhaps they are wrong but it could also be that they are right at times). I am far from being cynical but please, please bring me truth or the harshness of the world over an illusion of safety and fun. I want my daughter to see that there is so much value in embracing the world as it is and because of our hope in Christ we are also catalysts for change in the harsh, dire circumstances by our prayers and our actions. We are called to care for the least of these and even love our enemy. We are called not to make ourselves "god" but submit to God and humble ourselves to let every hardship refine us. What is "hard" is not bad. Sometimes what is "easy" is actually the killer of our souls making us feel like we are god and in control. God also made a world that is exceedingly wondrous and beautiful even terrifying (but this makes us realize how small we are in comparison). It is appropriate to be a little frightened but also in awe in a way that makes us go to the One who made it all and us for refuge.
