Socialization

Kayla, a young lady who was homeschooled, has come up with a new definition of socialization to use in the workshops that she has developed for homeschooling parents. I liked it so much I asked her if I could use it in a post for my website.

“Protecting children from the world for a short time so they can be witnesses to the world for a lifetime.” Kayla Reish

Isn’t this what we as parents really want to do? Oftentimes when I’ve felt the need to protect my children from something I feel a twinge of guilt, especially now as they are becoming young adults. But, as young adults they are still learning – getting their sea legs, so to speak. They are learning how to be in the world without being of the world. We send them out, and then discuss how it went. We sort out the seemingly “grey areas” and expose them to the Light of the Word. We ask questions: What does God’s Word say about this? What would happen if everyone did this? How could we have handled this better? differently? What results would we have liked to see? What should we do next time?

I feel so blessed to be moving into this time in our children’s lives. They are all at home and, although we still call them our “children,” two of them are adults and the third is well on his way to being one. We are moving into the friendship/mentor stage in our relationships. This doesn’t mean that we no longer tell them what to do, but they make more and more of their own decisions and we are delighted that they still consider our advice and input valuable.

I’m so grateful to have had this time to protect them from the world and I’m rejoicing as we send them out now to be witnesses – by the grace of God, for the rest of their lives.

Finding Joy in the Journey,
Phyllis

Phyllis Sather
Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness at:
http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com
© 2007 Phyllis Sather