Freaky

To use the words of my teenagers, my kids are freaks.  Just ask them. They don't have cell phones.  They don't have iPods (not that I would object, they just don't have them).  With the exception of the oldest two, they do not have Facebook pages. They don't do sleepovers.  They have chores and curfews and bedtimes.  They are not normal.  Poor things.

Do I sometimes wish that they had everything they wanted?  Of course I do!  Would it be easier most times if I could just pick up the phone and call or text my kids to see how they are or tell them that it's time to come home?  Absolutely!  But easier isn't always better.  And normal definitely isn't always better.

Now I'm not saying that giving a kid a cell phone is inherently a bad idea, because it isn't.  Giving a kid a cell phone with no boundaries is not only a bad idea, it's a terrible one.  The same principle applies to iPods and Facebook pages and even car keys.  And if those boundaries can't be followed, the privilege is removed.  It doesn't seem that difficult to me, but then again I'm finding out that I may be somewhat of a freak myself when it comes to parenting.  I guess freaky parents raise freaky kids.  I just happen to believe that it's my job to keep my kids moving in the right direction - towards eternal life with their Father in Heaven.  After my own salvation, theirs is the very most important.  It is the main purpose I'm here. 

In my reading this morning, I learned more about the prophet Ether.  Times were pretty bad when he was alive.  In fact, "there were none of the fair sons and daughters upon the face of the whole earth who repented of their sins" (Ether 13:17).  There was a lot of wickedness.  So much so that Ether went and hid in a cave during the day and went out only at night when he felt he would be protected from those who were seeking to take his life because of his beliefs.

©Darrell Wyatt

I've often joked that I wish I could hide my kids away from the world, that they would be shielded not only from the evils of the world, but from the pains that inevitably come during adolescence.  It's a tough place, this world.  Unfortunately, I cannot hide them "in the cavity of a rock", as Ether hid himself.  I can, however, provide a safe haven - a place where they can feel as if the world cannot touch them.  It is not only my duty as a mother, it is my calling and my responsibility.  One that I'm afraid I have shirked to some extent, and one that I must magnify if I want my kids to have any chance of making it through these difficult years.

I love my little freaks, and I hope that someday they will understand that my strict, freaky parenting style is just one way I can show that love. 

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 13