Oh, the Guilt

What a terrible blogsitter I am.  I know it’s not an excuse, but I’ve been rather busy this week at our annual summer kids club.  260 ankle-biters have invaded our building every morning all week.  We regroup in the afternoons and then prepare for the onslaught the next morning. They were actually pretty good kids, but once again we were saddened by how love-starved many of the children were, craving any sort of love or attention.  As our bus picked many of them up each morning, a few were literally pushed onto the bus by parents who just wanted them out of their hair for a few hours.  They’ll send them to another church this week, and another the week after that. Cheap babysitting, I guess. I stood in line at the bank a few weeks ago.  A little girl (6 or 7) was ahead of me with her mother, trying desperately to engage her in conversation.  Her Mom woudn’t give her the time of day.  At the end of the one-sided conversation, she told her daughter, “What do you know.  You’re just a kid.  Now be quiet.”  Nothing like a bit of affirmation to make a kid feel special, especially in front of a crowd. Parenting is always a challenge, and we have good days and bad days.  But when I tuck my girls into bed every night, I thank God for them.  When they’re not around (or I’m not around) I miss them.  They really are a treasure from the Lord.  So it’s kind of depressing to see other kids devalued by their parents. Let’s show kids we care.  Not just our kids, but ALL kids.