Dear sisters,
Recently, I have been thinking of children, on how they all deserve a safe place to live and enjoy their childhood, the way all children should. Last Sunday, my kids were amused by the dandelions growing outside church, with Jenna taking the lead. All 4 ended up plucking wild flowers and seeing them being carried away by the wind.
It dawned on me that that should be the way children are allowed to live, to be happy and enjoy God's creation; not to study the whole day long. Indeed, sisters, esp those with school-going kids, don't you agree with me that school work can be very stressful? After a long day at school, work does not end there. There will be never-ending homework at home and even if there isn't, there will always be the tests, the spelling to prepare. They get tired. Parents get even more tired. I do.
Yet, what a dilemma! If we do not ensure they do their work, we see the grades slip.
I can't help pondering on how the world should be for our children. We get caught up with work and we pass the same convictions to the kids. In many ways we are like the children. While the "education" in Singapore may wear the kids out, the adults may also have been worn out by the hectic routine of our daily lives (work, housework, finance, health, other worries,etc). Maybe that is why in the OT, God asked for Sabbath, for pp to remember Him to be stop thinking about work.
I must remember to set my own Sabbath to remember Him, away from work and worries.
Let's put all our work at the back of our minds and just remember Him.
love,sk
2 comments:
Dearest Soon Keow,
You're not alone in the struggle and dilemma. Everyone is. It now depends on how each individual react to it as a parent, whether you wield the whip to push the child on, or lay back and let the child enjoy life, or strike a balance between both poles. Personally I have learnt that my earthly achievements and possessions mean nothing, it's what I have in stored for me in heaven that matters most. I take the same attitude towards my children's studies. I don't expect good grades, but I expect conscientious efforts and positive attitude towards learning, as these are qualities expected of a good Christian. Natalie tried to bug me into telling her how Nathanial faired in his exams. Truth is, he scored more than 7% in average than she did, but I did not reveal this to her. Instead, I just said that figures mean nothing to me, what matters most and has been achieved is their hard work put into the revision for their exams. I'm glad that she was happy with the answer, but I don't know how long that will keep her mum. Meanwhile I just have to start thinking of another smart answer! =>
Hi SK,
I totally agree w you. I dont want to see my kid childhood is just about study. We made a point that if he has already tried his best , he wont get scolded. But realise that say it easy, but do it v difficult because we always wts our kids to do better and better. I am trying to learn how to meet his needs rather keep pushing him to study..
Singapore education system is stressful...!
Wendy
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