This past week I heard at least four different parents say how much they miss their children but they are making the sacrifice of being away so they can earn enough to give the children the things they, the parents, never had. Did any of them stop and listen to what they were saying? The things their children need are not material items purchased with money earned by absentee parents. The thing children need the most is to be with their parents. They need love. They need security. They need parents reading to them at night. They need parents attending little league games and they need parents’ hugs. I could understand it if it were a very short term experience but in the case of the persons I heard, they were speaking of a long time absence. I understand sometimes circumstances, like military service, take parents away. What I am speaking of is being away by choice to chase a pot of gold. We must never think things are more important than our presence. No golden whatever can ever replace the warmth of sitting on mommy or daddy’s lap.
On the bright side we do live in a world filled with media devices that allow us to have daily contact with loved ones no matter where they are. Tiny cameras on or built into computers enable us to see and talk with loved ones. The only thing missing are the hugs. This evening my wife and I were talking to and looking at each other on our laptops. The unusual thing was we were in the same room just a few feet apart. However, the images on the computer screens had traveled literally tens of thousands of miles. We are a long way from the old party line telephones.
Written by Roger Bothwell on February 28, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org