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Words of Wisdom From an Absent Minded -Fish
By: Mary Elder-Criss
Being a mother of three children, I find myself watching many Disney movies. This past year, my kids’ number one pick for a Christmas video was “Finding Nemo.” In the movie, Marlin promises his young son Nemo, before he was ever born, that he will never let anything happen to him, after he loses his wife, and all his other children to a barracuda. This, of course, was not to be, as Nemo ends up captured by a diver, and taken to Sydney, Australia. There he is to become a gift for Darla, the dentist’s somewhat notorious niece, known for her less than perfect track record with previous denizen of the deep. When Marlin shares this promise with his forgetful friend Dory, she informs him, “That’s kind of a silly thing to promise.” When Marlin questions her, she goes on to say, “Well, if you promised not to ever let anything happen to him, then nothing will ever happen to him.”
Words of wisdom from an absent-minded fish. As much as the mother in me would like to promise my children that I will never let anything happen to them, and keep them safe from all harms, I know this is an impossibility. I cannot promise them that I will always be there as a shield and a protector from every bad thing that may come their way. I can promise them that I will always do my best to be a responsible parent, and to raise them according to the standards that God has set forth in His word. I can promise them that I will always love them, and watch over them to the best of my ability, and that I will always attempt to be here for them if they need me. I cannot however, place them in an insulated plastic bubble, and guard them from every outside negative influence.
Many times, as a homeschooling parent, others, who do not understand my reasons for teaching my children at home, criticize me. I am repeatedly advised that my children are in danger of being unsocialized, and will not know how to function in the quote “real world” unquote.
I usually counter these attacks from well meaning advisors by assuring them that I hope by the time my children are ready to face the “real world,” that they will have acquired enough Godly wisdom to handle it. However, I do realize that in the end, their choices will be simply that, their choices. If my children do make unwise decisions, then I have to accept that it was their election to do so, and that I am not responsible. God created us all with a free will, and no matter how many years I labor to instill within them a love for God, and a desire to please Him, it truly will have to be a commitment that they make for themselves. God does not have any grandchildren, they will not make it into heaven on my faith, but instead must develop their own measure of faith.
I simply have to trust that God’s promises to me regarding my children are true. I have to release their lives into His hands, knowing that He is the potter, and they are the clay. My most important part in the whole molding process is to make sure the potter’s wheel continues turning. I have to take God at His word when He promised in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
I may even have to remember that God can indeed work good out of situations that might not always appear promising to my eyes. When I may be tempted to make unrealistic assurances to my children, may I simply remember that my job is just to guide them to the best of my ability. I hope that if I still have difficulty understanding my role in it all, He will continue to send me messages of wisdom from such incongruous things as an absent minded fish.
Copyright 2004
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