As a father, I want my two boys to grow up to be good, holy men. I would like them to be successful in their careers and live happy and healthy lives, but my top priority is to help them reach Heaven. I tell them that I will be happy with whatever career they choose as long as it’s legal, moral, and they enjoy doing it. A good father spreads good seeds in his children’s lives and hopes at least some of them take hold and grow into something beautiful.
Children are more observant than we give them credit for. They copy behaviors of their parents and other influences in their environment. We have to be careful what we expose them to, because they will pick up on the words and behavior that they see and hear. There are so many people battling addiction. We can start teaching our children at a young age how to handle addictive tendencies. Let kids enjoy doing fun things, but teach them moderation and show them many different ways to have fun. For example, if we let them have too much video game and TV time, they will only want to do those things and will show anger and frustration when we tell them to stop. My Dad used to encourage us to go play outside. In fact, he didn’t encourage us, but forced us. This taught my siblings and me how to have fun playing other games that didn’t involve a screen.
My family always went to Mass every week, and my parents sent us to Catholic school which was more expensive than public school. They laid seeds of the Catholic faith early in my life and they eventually took hold. There were some times of drought where the seeds didn’t grow, but the seeds remained in me and grew when the time was right.
Sometimes all it takes is the right nutrient or light level to get a seed growing. We can be that light or nutrient to another person to get a seed growing. Occasionally, bad seeds get planted as well and those grow to be weeds that threaten to choke the life out of a person. At the very least, weeds make it harder for us to succeed in our Heavenly quest.
It’s important to have a mother and father in a family. While it’s possible for kids to turn out fine without both, the odds of a successful seed planting are increased with both. The main way parents help their children is by staying engaged with them. It’s so easy to be distracted now with our electronic devices, but being disconnected from our children can lead them to have emotional problems.
We should pray with our kids. Don’t count on our kids to learn how to pray on their own. We should also take our kids to church. Don’t just tell them they have to go to church, but show them why they should want to go. If we only force them to go, they may or may not continue going when they make their own decisions. However, if we show them why going to church is important, they will most likely want to continue to go to church when they are in their own. Teach your kids the faith and don’t count on schools to do it. Even most Catholic schools don’t do a great job of teaching the faith. While parents can solicit outside help, it’s ultimately up to the parents to ensure their children make it to Heaven. If we plant the right seeds in our children and allow them to grow up in a nurturing environment, we can watch them become more and more beautiful as the seeds grow in them throughout their lives.
