The following is from my cousin Tobey’s blog. I just thought it was worth sharing:
Let me preface by saying I don’t claim to have any great wisdom or insight on child raising. I have a few thoughts that I am going to throw out there because it’s where I’m at right now. The story you’re about to read is real. No names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Recently my wife, Erin, was working at the house we are going to move into. She wanted to get some painting done and had our 2 year old Logan with her. Logan brought along his little bug box that his aunt Jan gave him for an Easter present. Now Logan loves to take his little bug box and catch firefly’s and beetles and whatever else we can find in the yard and put them in his bug box. Up until this particular day daddy had caught all the bugs for Logan’s bug box. My wife sent Logan out to the backyard to play with his bug box and she could see him and knew he was safe and seemed to be having a blast playing with his little bug box.
After a few minutes Logan came walking back into the house to show mommy what he had in his bug box. Erin just about flipped. She calmly asked Logan if he knew what was in his bug box. He said, “Yes, mommy it’s a nake!” He had caught a little Garter snake and put in his bug box. Erin is not sure how he did it. The snake was about a foot long and was not real happy to be in there. Logan was so proud of what he had caught. Erin asked Logan to take her and show her where he caught the snake. He took her right to the edge of the grass by the field and showed her right where it happened.
When Erin told me that story when I got home from work I was so proud of my little man. I was just tickled that my little guy went out and caught himself, as pastor Don would say, a “critter.” Then it hit me. My wife sent him out to play and he caught a “nake.” He was supposed to be finding bugs and instead something else came up. How true that is for our kids as they grow. In a few years it might not be a snake in the back yard but a bully at school, maybe he’ll be the bully, there will be drugs, alcohol, sex, parties, language, and the list goes on. I laid in bed that night thinking about how I can keep him from catching the snakes of life when he goes outside to play.
I guess I still don’t know what the answer is. As much as Erin and I try the reality of it is we can’t protect him from all the dangers out there. Fortunately it was just a little Garter snake that somehow never bit him or harmed him. How can I protect him? How can Erin and I keep him safe?? The reality is that we can only trust God to watch over our kids. Erin and I pray
each night with him and we pray for God to use him. I’ve come to the conclusion that if we want God to protect him than we must give him to God. How can God protect something that is not His? So that is our prayer. We say Father our son is yours. It’s not always easy. I want him to like the things I like, and be the person that I want him to be but at the end of the day he needs to be what God wants him to be.
Now if I had my way Logan would grow up to be the quarterback for Notre Dame and then decide the NFL is to rough and become the starting shortstop for the Detroit Tigers. After about 15 years of all-star games and World Series MVP’s he would then take my spot in the Schwartz Family and keep the group going. Maybe that’s a bit much but the point is that it’s not about me it’s about my son and helping him become the person God wants him to be. It’s about our Heavenly Father and what his Son did for both me and my son.
There that’s my thoughts for the day. Erin and I have already decided we will never think we have it figured out. We’ll just take each day as it comes and trust God to protect our little guy from all the dangers out there. I’m sure it won’t be the last time he has a snake in his bug box.
What a great story! Thanks for sharing.
That is a very well thought out and timely post. We have 3 kids and one is almost grown but I know that we don’t have it figured out- I still feel like were “winging-it” on a regular basis. I just hope we don’t end up with any snakes in the house. Thanks for sharing.