Kids are the future

So… my first full day with my family in London. Stu and Rose and Matt and Kirsty. It’s so fabulous to be here. I went to Kirsty’s school assembly as she went up a year. It was wonderful to be there. This arvo I went to her “modern dance” concert.

At both places I saw loads of kids and I was astonished at the specialness of them. They need patience… lots of it. Do I have the patience? The kind of patience I have in my business is to wait an hour and expect improvement right away. But kids need patience that lasts months, years even!

I see that I have a heart for kids, but I don’t know if I could be a teacher and nurture patiently for year after year. I’m more of a builder, a dreamer of big dreams. I began to wonder if this is the difference between men and women, that women are built to be relational and nurture and men do other things – perhaps our role is a bit frowned on these days. Together men and women complement each other if they see the best in each other.

Above all what struck me so deeply is that this is the fabric of society, this is the future… right here in front of me. The kids. Each one is like a treasure. If we treat them right, things will go well. No wonder God said to the Israelites to discipline their kids, to love them and to teach them about Him.

(Kirsty is next to me and she saw my “kids are the future” heading, she thinks it’s the wrong heading, she prefers “kids are cool, kids are special, kids rock”. What a healthy and great identity to have of yourself! Do you and I think we are cool, special and we rock? Stu and Rose have certainly done a superb job in raising these kids.)