“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hand.”
Psalm 127: 3 & 4
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hand.”
Psalm 127: 3 & 4
I have been thinking about writing this post for a while but was a little nervous
and hesitant because I do not want to upset anyone.
I had the privilege of reviewing some interviews done with some street boys, by a Psychology student and they brought tears to my eyes. The boys were living on the streets because they were turned away from school and when they did not find any love at home they chose to live on the streets where they all said they felt more love and a sense of belonging from their fellow street friends.
My question then is, do some of us as parents believe the abovementioned verse, ‘children are a Gift from God……? I’ll go on further to ask, do we believe that children are in fact the leaders of tomorrow. Why then are some of them not given the opportunity to live as the gifts they should be, or have their lives in line with becoming the leaders of tomorrow. What would cause you to turn your child out to live under the cellar of your house or what would cause you to abuse your child so much that they prefer to be on the streets with their fellow street friends and worse yet, what would cause you to send your young child out on the streets to earn money to take care of the rest of his siblings when he should be in school. This is the same child whose eyes you gaze in when they were born and felt that unbreakable bond. That newborn baby who you would not let anyone touch unless approved by you. These innocent little souls are the ones who later on, cannot stay in the school system because of discipline problems and end up becoming some of the most notorious gunmen, who rob and kill us just to get by.
My husband and I yearned for a child for over a decade, and others of us are still yearning, and would give anything to have even just one child, and others get them so easy and mess up, so you can understand my anger at this. We are by no means wealthy parents, but we are doing the best we can. Most importantly we are aware that we must instill a proper value system in our children so that they may be able to make sensible choices later in life to positively impact their future.
I know there are many reasons why some children end up on the streets. There is poverty, there is abuse which can stem from poverty, there is the fact that children are having children and therefore are not at the place to be able to instill in their children a proper value system. Some of us irresponsibly engage in sexual relationships and end up with these children that we are not able to care for. They are past off on the government who finds it challenging to have an adequate system in place for these children and so they end up on the streets.
You see, I am not one to cast blame on anyone, but if I am to do that in this regard, I would blame parents for failing to instill the proper value systems in these children. That is why having children must be a conscious and responsible decision made by adults, so that, even if you are not wealthy, (because it by no means takes wealth to bring up a well placed child) you can instill a proper value system in your children so that later they can make sensible decisions on how they live their lives.
I am from a very poor background and have six other siblings and none of us are on the streets.
Thank God our parents instilled the proper value system in us and so now we are better off for it.
Something to look into and to act upon if you are guilty, and again, my intention was not to hurt anyone.
Until next time, remain positive
