February 11, 2013
Quagmire
There are a couple of vacant lots down the street from my house and our
recent thaw has left them a quagmire of adobe mud. The other day three middle
school youngsters, one girl and two boys, decided to cut across the lots and
quickly got bogged down. About half way through the girl turned back, but the
boys were having a grand time. Helping one another keep their balance they
would lift first one foot and then the other all the while admiring the amount
of mud accumulating on their shoes. “Whoa
dude look at this. I can hardly lift my foot.” I told Bill if they would
have been my kids I’d have scalped them. Bill laughed, “I did the very same thing when I was a kid. I was wearing my boots and
I was invincible.” Reminiscent of David’s song to the Lord, “He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.” (Psalms 18:33 NIV)
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----I never thought it well to expect a child to be an adult unless his being a child might be damaging to something. In this case, I doubt the empty lot was being harmed. I suppose they and their mommas knew how durable their footwear was. I imagine they wasted an extra moment or more playing in the mud rather than just walking through it. Again, only their mommas and they could know how damaging that may have been to a schedule. So, as long as their boots were down for the dirty, and they cleaned the extra mess off them and their pants themselves instead of leaving it for mom’s doing, what could be improper about their being kids?
-----There is one thing I can imagine. Many parents do not see stuff through the eyes of children. They forbid some activities simply for the reason that these things are not what they would do. This puts the child in a position to do serious damage to his own character and personality. His choice is to dishonor his parents and have fun or honor his parents and redefine fun. In a way, it is not fair to place a child in this position, which leads to even more collateral damage. Expecting everything has to be fair before honor and respect are due is deadly error. We do not live in a fair world. Yet honor and respect remain vital. Children must learn this. You are probably right. They might need a paddling.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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