Seventeen years ago in another world, far, far away, I shared the pulpit with my husband. For one Sunday, two services. As scared as I was, I summoned enough courage to join Daniel as we gave a sermon on parenting. Quite a broad subject for only one Sunday, but I was up for the challenge. I knew that God wanted me to share about His 'big picture' for parents. I visualized a big Earth turning in a dark universe, and I kept coming back to the words "world changers".
Today is the first of several points, with more in following posts.
As parents, you need to THINK GLOBALLY, NOT JUST LOCALLY (Becoming a World Citizen)
Each family is unique and special and as such, has operational distinctives. But all children can be made aware that there are four big-picture views that will serve them well in playing, conversing, learning and laughing with other children from different family operational systems:
- Teach them that each family has their own CULTURE in how they operate (rules and regulations), function and celebrate life. This will help them adapt easily when they visit friends' or relatives' homes and understand that differences in how families do life is not a bad thing--it's a different choices thing. Our children knew the family rules, even if they couldn't articulate that they were indeed rules. For instance, the television was off for dinner so that we could all talk about our day. One evening there was a football game Daniel really, really wanted to continue "listening to" during dinner. I and the kids reminded him what the rule was. As I recall, there was a brief exchange of words and then the television was turned off. That made a big impression on the kids because they saw that Dad gave in to the family rule, even though they could see how passionate he was about seeing the game! After we'd visit a home where the family rules were different, conversation may come up about why they did or didn't like the differences. On occasion, this would lead to a new family rule or a change in an existing one.
- Help your children understand that there are different REGIONAL CULTURES. I grew up in Southern California. When I moved to Northern California at the age of 19, I immediately noticed how the regional culture of my SoCal roots was very different from the NorCal culture. My speech was surfer and Valley Girl-influenced. My patched bell-bottom blue jeans stood out among those who were fashion magazine-influenced. I was more laid-back but the general vibe was more rush-rush. SoCal already had an established entertainment industry, but NorCal was ready to explode with technological advances. I had to learn to adapt to my regional culture.
- Inspire your children by letting them see there is a NATIONAL CULTURE. This includes giving them a vision of the "melting pot" of America--many nationalities and languages living side by side. My parents made sure I understood some of the history for the foundational beginnings of America--that our country functions based on the "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union" Constitution. As our children were growing up, their classmates and our neighbors were from places like India, Afghanistan, Philippines, China and Viet Nam. It was a little bit hot dogs and apple pie--along with hummus, tamales, paella, ravioli, miso soup, sarma, satay...you get the picture. We talked about how we all are or came from immigrants. (Our ancestors were from Germany, England, Ireland, Scotland.) Differences can be apparent. Mini cultures may exist within the bigger American culture but things like schools and jobs can be a bonding agent.
- Give them the world by helping them see the WORLD CULTURE. This could be as simple as talking about the many different homes, or food, or clothing that can be found around the world or even the neighborhood. My great-uncle subscribed to National Geographic for years. He also had records (vinyl) that taught how to speak Spanish. When my family would visit him, he gladly shared those things with us kids (there were no toys) and that helped to broaden my world view as a child. The stunning photography let me take a peek into the depths of the ocean and way up to the stars. From North Pole to South Pole wonders. My father shared about his days of working on a dude ranch in Arizona to crewing a yacht over to Hawaii to skiing in the Alps after WWII ended. My dad's best friend loved sailing and sent our family postcards from exotic places. This all helped give me a sense of connectedness. A kind of "we're all in this together" connectedness.
Next installment: "The Key Word in Our Family"
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