I Want to Go Home!

Today was my youngest first day in pre-school,and he was terrified. I assured him over and over that his mother would pick him up in a few hours, and that he would have fun and make friends, but despite all of the good reasons to accept my word, and the surrounding facts, fear gripped his little heart beyond his ability to reason. I had to leave him there not because I had to go to work, but so he would learn to deal with his fear of uncertainty. His mother and I left him in good hands, and when we pick him up in a few hours, he will begin to unconciously understand the meaning of trust. It is important that he knows that home is always waiting for him, not just on his first day in school, but when he becomes a teen or an adult. I am forty years old, but when I visit my mother, no matter where she happens to live, it always feels like home.

It is hard for me to imagine how children born into precarious circumstances, cope without the loving circumstances needed to develop trust, and the inner understanding of home. I was loved and protected by my mother and father, and this has given me a point of reference for understanding my eternal home prepared for me in Jesus Christ. I have an inkling of what awaits me in heaven because of God's great love for me. I can trust him in part, because my mother and father provided a safe and happy place for love and trust to mean something to me. I may fail in many ways as a father,but I believe my boys will understand what it means to be "home", and trusting God will be the natural outgrowth of having a Mom and Dad who loves them. TOTT