A Life Beyond Yourself

Hello to everyone. I find myself writing this with a smile on my face because I am sitting in the Toyota Dealership. I have just dropped my car off for a service and I wondered what I was going to do for the 1.5 hour wait (if there was no one to talk to....I love talking). Much to my surprise not only is there hot coffee and tea, muffins, bottled water and juice on hand but Internet access! Who would have thought that local car dealerships would provide so much ~ a strong bid for our business I guess and today Toyota is tops for me. I'm able to accomplish multiple tasks while sitting waiting for my car.

If you haven't already read Sam's recent post 'What's Good for You' I encourage you to do so. The post is all about 'acts of kindness' and how being kind and doing things for others can benefit our health. This is something I've been thinking about lately not so much from a health perspective but through the lives of our children. I am convinced that one way to keep our children out of harms way (whatever their ages) and away from some of the things that are available to them and seem appealing, is through being involved in something beyond themselves. Being part of something that not only occupies time but thought life as well, is a valuable part of all of our lives. You know what is said about idleness.

I think (and remember this is MY thinking) that as parents, we can get busy and sadly our children are the one's who pay the price. During these 'busy' times children will find things to connect to/with and before long we're asking how they got involved in that, or why they have changed. Sadly I've had conversations with many parents about how they can't get their teenager off the computer or out of their bedroom. Parents tell me that conversations have turned to grunting when passing in the hallway rather than the meaningful conversations, they once shared, covering the things that matter in their world.

It is our responsibility to help our children find things that will ignite something within them. Helping them live a life beyond themselves is a valuable life lesson that will help propel them into the future. When your thoughts are consumed by bigger and greater things and ways that you can make a difference or be involved, the world looks so different and so much more inviting. There is a need within each one of us to belong to something and to find our own significance.

Our children are learning about things earlier than we did, and in some cases they are experiencing things earlier as well. Whether that's right or wrong it's happening and we need to help them navigate this delicate season of their lives.

Today my 6.5 year old headed off to school with $10.00 of his own pocket money to give to a mission's project the school is involved in. He has displayed and shared his thoughts towards helping the poor many times and today he put action to his words. It is now Philip and my responsiblity to help him carve out a way that he can make a difference in this area. He obviously has a soft heart towards people and we need to put tools in his hand that will help him develop this amazing area of his life. This is an example of a young boy living a life beyond himself and we need to let him know that he can make a difference, we need to encourage him to dream, we need to let him try.

I want to encourage you to listen to your children, really listen and find out what makes them tick. Everyone has a dream and that dream is unique to each individual ~ don't expect all your children to share the same dream. Help your children see their dream become a reality and again remember it doesn't matter what age your children are. This year I will be celebrating my 38th birthday and my parents continue to help me carve out my dream. They listen to me, they discuss things with me, they share their ideas with me and I'm so thankful for that. So, if you have a 6.5 year old like me or your baby is 14, 18, 19 ,20 or 38 help them navigate the waters of life.

Finally I would like to ask if you would share your thoughts on how you can or how you have helped your children live lives beyond themselves. Where you have seen success? What are some great ideas you can share with thefamilyroom community?

Susan