Responsible Parenthood?!

RESPONSIBLE Parenthood?!

I think there is redundancy in that phrase. I believe that you can not be called a parent if you are not responsible. However, in this generation, I have witnessed painted pains because some people just enjoyed the baby-making part and didn't want to have anything to do with child-rearing.

Lately, I conducted a workshop on Storytelling to Compassion teachers and volunteers. I've always been passionate about Storytelling and I make it my mission to spread the secrets of the craft, tell unforgettable stories and make other people yearn to be storytellers themselves. That's my answer to the call in Romans 10:17 "So then faith comes by hearing...". This way we can saturate this world with the wonderful story of salvation. That is my main goal.

In addition to that, I see that by storytelling we train our kids to be responsible. See, storytelling (with minimal or no props)  gets their minds working; they imagine, analyze, decide. That is how we want our kids to be when they grow up - men and women who will be creative enough to find solutions, to analyze situations and then decide and take ownership of the decision. When we raise them that way, that's responsible parenthood.

I am not a parent but I desire to be one someday. I don't have kids but i have worked with kids for many years. I discovered that parenthood, though it is a lot of work, is actually just mastering the simple stuff that make up the bigger stuff. Like, if I want my kids to grow up organized, I just need to let them be comfortable with following systems and procedures.

When coming in from school, (1) take off your shoes (2) put them on the rack (3) put soiled socks in the bin. A three-step system is not complicated but once they mastered it, you can build on it the 'big' chunks of your daily work that usually stresses you. That is why again, I have considered storytelling as essential. It is a fun, no stress activity, yet the benefits are long term. That's IF, you take your storytelling session seriously.

Our parents :)

Maybe I'm idealistic. Or maybe, I have just been around people who sunk at parenthood. Or maybe, I just appreciated very much the way our parents raised us (3 girls). No, we didnt always have a clean living room, or bedroom. Yes, we did pressure our parents to 'save' us because we needed to submit a dollhouse project the NEXT DAY!!! But, NO, we never tiptoed around the house, we never mixed fresh school uniforms with sweaty PE shirts and we never heard our parents sigh when we asked them questions. Yes, my mother is a worrier and complains a lot but in all her complaining, not one bit did we hint that it was about raising us, THREE Girls. No, not even a hint of worry that we'd come home pregnant! (By God's grace no one has and will remain that way!)

And here's what I think are the essentials to parenthood:

1. A deep commitment to Christ - No order is possible without Him at the center
2. A deep commitment to each other - No one should bail out
3. A deep commitment to joy - No one should say it is missing

Those three things are core to parenthood. The rest just stems from them. Being a parent is a gift. I don't think we cannot refuse that gift when given to us. So, "Let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." Galatians 6:9 (NLT)


*Note: I recently am on the 30-Day Blogging Challenge with my other blog A November Miracle. Ha!!! this is my second day and I was to write about something I feel strongly about. Here's the first thing that came to mind. I thought I'd share it with the readers of this blog.