A few minutes ago, I watched a short video on The Christian Post. It was billed as a heartwarming reunion of parents and child. Many would agree and even become a bit teary-eyed. I cried because I saw tragedy.
Julia and Brian Woodburn are married and have a daughter, Addison who appears to be 3-4 years old. The difficulty arises because Mom and Dad both serve in the military and have both been deployed. Result? Mom, Dad, and little Addison have been in three different parts of the world for an extended period.
Their surprise for Addison was a reunion during a school-sponsored magic show in a gymnasium. The magician enabled Mom to pop out of an apparently empty box; Dad was costumed as a mascot bear, serving as the magician’s assistant. Just before the unveiling of the parents, the host “magically” selected Addison from the audience and briefly interviewed her. He asked Addison if her Mom was present. Gesturing panoramically, he asked if Addison’s mother was anywhere in the audience. Another off-camera child shouted, “SHE DOESN’T HAVE ONE; SHE’S DEPLOYED.” My tears flowed freely, not because of the reunion, but because the reunion never should have been necessary in the first place.
I have a great deal of respect, appreciation, and admiration for those serving in the military and regularly post Facebook messages to underscore that appreciation. Understandably and regretfully, it is necessary for a parent, often the father, to be deployed for a long period of time. But a young child should never have to be deprived of both parents, for extended periods, even if both are serving in the military. Such a tragic long-term separation is a serious indictment of our falling culture today.
What do YOU think?
If you’re curious, here’s the link: http://www.christianpost.com/buzzvine/soldiers-surprise-their-daughter-with-a-heartwarming-return-at-a-school-magic-show-142626/
Where is the body of believers today?
Where are the clergy?
Dr. Lloyd Stebbins 
Very sad, Lloyd. 😦
I think that the deprivation of both parents simultaneously will leave deep scars in the soul of that little girl, which will be her unseen companions for her whole lifetime unless God heals her. Also, meeting her parents, whom she certainly missed extremely, before the public eye is anything but a healthy situation for a family reunion. But that’s the way the cookie crumbles today. Everything which had been hidden in former times can be seen on TV or on the internet. What a poor generation that gets used to only watch these and other things and forgets what REAL LIFE is all about!
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Thanks, Susanne. No one will ever love a child more than or even as much as both bio-parents. No one will ever raise a child with a better or more positive set of life-affirming and God-loving values more than both bio-parents. No one will ever prepare a child for the rigors, joys, and maturing experiences of life, as well as both bio-parents. Our culture and others worldwide have lost that vision.
The government(s) greased the skids toward divorce with 1970s and 1980s wave of no-fault divorce laws that swept through virtually all of the States in the U.S. and probably other countries as well. The wave had been preceded by no-fault automobile insurance laws. Of course insurance merely deals with money; divorce alters lives forever. At the time, no one seemed to make that observation.
Prior to the tsunami of no-fault divorce laws, legal divorce required any of a very few narrowly construed “grounds for divorce,” that were essentially rooted in the Holy Scriptures. Although the “grounds” listed in the old laws varied a bit from state to state, the Biblical roots were clear. Again, the godly wisdom of the nuclear family was cast aside in favor of imagined “self-fulfillment.”
The feminist movement lured women out of the homes by demeaning the most important career in the universe–Mother and homemaker. When the woman leaves the home, love leaves the home like air out of a flat tire. The home becomes merely the house–the lifeless building where people go to sleep at night, because they have nowhere else to go.
God has some strong words for the feminists and young husbands today who demand or expect their wives to be employed outside the home, especially during child-rearing years, “The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you even with a sore destruction.” [Micah 2:9,10 KJV] Once again, the godly wisdom of the nuclear family was cast aside in favor of perceived “self-fulfillment.”
The 21st Century legacy of government-subsidized divorce and feminist-driven, materialistic, and self-centered lifestyle is disposable kids. Disposability appears as abortion and far too many children “raised” by strangers in and endless round of nursery schools, day care centers, early morning before school care, and after school care in the late afternoon, and babysitters at other times. Why? Because modern “parents” are out chasing dueling careers, while missing out on the most important, satisfying, and fulfilling parts of life–the life within the God-designed family.
Disposable kids? Does that sound a bit harsh? It may even attract a comment from Michael!
Now, look back at the first paragraph. Isn’t it sad that to have a meaningful conversation today we must prefix the word “parents” with “bio-?” Even the thought is nightmarish.
Look up! Fortunately, God is still in the healing business. His Spirit will rescue many of lost kids. But woe to the miss-guided parents.
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That was a great comment, Lloyd! Indeed, that saddening development has been the same in Europe too. Worst case are the Netherlands, but in Germany we are not that far behind.
Well, it is not easy for woman who was raised in this modern screwed up society to take a stand and say that she wants to stay at home with her children. She will experience a lot of rejection from all those who do not know God and might hear accusations of wasting her potential in the comfort of her own home (or worse 😛 ).
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Susanne, what the world calls “waste” God calls it loving worship as you sit at Jesus’ feet. What a blessing you ARE!
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Thank you, Michael. But the cutting remarks from others still hurt, I admit.
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Jesus also partook in these cutting remarks towards Him as well, “And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.'”
(Zechariah 13:6 RSVA)
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😥
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We only allow tears of grace and abundant joy on this blog. 🙂
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😀
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Michael, criticism and trials are no fun, but our response to them builds character. Instead of focusing on the negatives and the people spouting them we can think of the criticism and trials as God’s tools for building our character. What do you think?
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There is only ONE Character I am interested in being built up in me and that is the life of Christ, The rest of me can die. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21 KJ2000)
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Amen, brother!
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That’s right, Michael. I took care of my late wife 24/7 for seven years. She had a debilitating neurodegenerative condition similar to Alzheimer’s disease. She required total care. Although I took care of her at the end of life, rather than caring for children early in life, the principles are the same.
After she passed away, a well-meaning Christian woman approached me saying, “You really sacrificed a lot during those years.” I replied that I did not sacrifice anything. Taking care of her was the highest priority of my life at that time. I didn’t have to discern God’s will for my life, pray about it, or search the Scriptures for hints of His will. On our wedding day, we vowed before God to love each other “’til death do us part” not “’til nursing home do us part.” God’s presence was as clear as someone sharing the same sofa. It was the most meaningful and monumentally life changing experience of my life.
Our culture has lost sight of that level of meaning and fulfillment as applied to the Biblical homemaker. I’ll be among their loudest and most vocal cheerleaders.
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Good thoughts, Susanne. That’s why my upcoming book includes several chapters of support for just such a woman. My oldest daughter is a fulltime homemaker who is homeschooling her three children. She is loving every minute of it and is building an enviable treasury of memories as well as developing children of strong character. Fortunately, her husband is very supportive.
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I am glad to hear that you have such great opportunities in the States, Lloyd. Actually, homeshooling is forbidden in Germany and the only way to teach for me were additional tutor lessons for several kids and teens, something I have always loved to do and that gave me the possiblity to stay at home as well.
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Yes, I’ve heard news reports about the German government snatching home school children. Sadly, it happens in the United States as well. It’s frightening. Actually, home school children routinely score significantly higher that their public school counterparts in standardized testing.
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