I was at Sam's Club doing some shopping and my little part time side kick was being cuddly and leaning on me. He started pulling on my necklace playing with it. I thought about it and figured that he was busy, not hurting anything and let him continue. It wasn't until he started looking for something that I pulled back and asked him not to pull on it. It turned out in his pulling he was able to wriggle one of the discs out of the jump ring. I was so grateful he still had it because I would never have known until it was too late, I would have lost a piece.
Immediately I thought of my family. I wear this necklace alot and mindlessly play with it but don't think much about it. I knew letting Mac pull on it was not the best idea but what was the harm so I allowed him to pull on it a little harder. I was satisfied with his distraction that I allowed him to pull because it seemed harmless. Do you see where I am going?
It hit me like a ton of bricks. Are there things in my family, that I allow to creep in and tug and pull? Are there things that I may not approve of but because it keeps them happy nd seems harmless because I am keeping an eye on the situation, so I allow them to be pulled? Then it falls apart and I didn't even notice?
Sometimes I feel like the responsibility of parenthood holds too much risk. How do you let your babies go out in the world and protect them at the same time? The only answer I can come up with is pray, remember by reading the scripture and writing in your journal, follow the prophets, old and new, and walk in faith.
It also reminded me to not get complacent or too comfortable with how I protect my family. Not assume because the kids are not fighting that everything is OK. To remember just because we are a close family doesn't mean we are untouchable. We need to be constantly vigilant to protect what is most important and make conscious decisions when it comes to our family. Knowing what is important for my family doesn't mean it is important for another, just because another family works a certain way doesn't mean mine has to.
