My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. [9] What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.
Proverbs 1:8-9 (NLT)
Training up our children never ceases. Every family faces opportunities daily to make life work. Parents set the tone of their family by their attitude and attentiveness to the needs of the family. It is evaluation time. We are beginning a summer that feels like it should be ending. I wrote last week about enjoying the journey of the Covid-19 Quarantine. In our current situation, good hygiene, rest and social distancing are a good offense to prevent catching the virus; and equally a good offense in making life work. How can we hold on to the best of quarantine as life gears back up?
“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12 (NLT)
As a life of more activity takes shape with all of the new adages (face masks, social distancing, hand washing and hand sanitizing), let us evaluate what we have learned during the quarantine experience. Let us hold on to that which meant the most. All members of the family need proper rest to stay healthy and resilient, which possibly was lacking in our Pre-Covid lifestyles. We felt social pressures to “put five pounds of nails into a three-pound bag.” We lived life with no margins and no room for the important things.
As parents, we would all agree that we “do” want our children to behave well and to thrive. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:1-4:
Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. [2] Honor your father and mother.” This is the first of the Ten Commandments that ends with a promise. [3] And this is the promise: If you honor your father and mother, “you will live a long life, full of blessing.
Their behavior is linked directly to the blessing and protection of God, and at the same time it is fueled by their health and well-being. Our children need us to help them with boundaries and disciplines that promote their success in any given day. Let’s put in the past the overextended and over-tired lifestyle of our family. Dr. Kevin Leman, an internationally known psychologist and author of “Have a New Kid by Friday,” tells us “getting an overtired child to behave” and function well “is nearly impossible.” It is a good thing when our children can entertain themselves with the old adages of creativity and playing outside.
We have “before, during and now after” quarantine to consider and compare. Salvage that which is proven the best for your home and family. Proper rest and sleep will often cure many of life’s ailments. Don’t let summer rob you of well-needed structure and rest. Remember, the “early bird gets the worm.”
