31 Days: Passing It On

I'll be honest with you, I've had plenty of doubts about our decision. It would be so much easier to make these kinds of decisions if there were no children involved! If I only had to worry about me, or me and my husband, things would be so much less complicated. It's one thing to know what you believe personally, and have the strength to stand up for truth when the questions and pressures come along, but how do you pass that on to your children? Being born into a Mennonite home won't save them; every one of them has to make their own choice!

Chris and I both grew up in homes where our Parents clearly took the responsibility for raising their children. Sometimes our families did things differently than the rest of the people from our church. For instance, Chris wasn't always allowed to go to every youth activity; I wasn't allowed to wear certain things that my peers didn't think twice about. Sometimes I look around at young people and the things they wear and the places they go and I wonder, "Where are their parents???!!" It seems like no one can tell their children no these days. It's unheard of to expect your children to be different than the rest of the crowd!

I was talking about this with a friend this summer and I said, "How did our parents do it? Why did you and I come out the other side making the choices we did?" I think what she said is so, so true. This is not a direct quote, but the basic idea:

"I think the difference is that what our parents taught us was from their hearts. They weren't just following a set of rules because that's what the church required. They were doing it because those were their true convictions, what they really believed was the best way of following God and the Bible. And we knew that."

The fact is, as parents, we pass on what is really in our hearts whether we realize what is in them or not! That's sobering.