Recently when I was having dinner with my mum, she made a statement that reverberated within me. She said that the best thing she’s done in all her life is to know and believe in Jesus, and to bring her children to do the same.
Wow. My mum may be a little blur sotong and simple-minded sometimes, but she makes occasional statements like this one that can blow you off your chair.
How very true, I thought to myself. As a mum, I often ask myself, ‘What can I do for my kids?’ And because I am limited in so many ways, it’s hard not to feel guilty that I’ve not done enough. Even now that I’m already a mum myself, my own mother still tells me that she feels that she’s not been a good-enough mother to me as a kid. Even after so many years! And what with me turning out to be such a fine lady, I really don’t know what she’s feeling bad about! Haha. But having said that, I do know how she feels. There’re always little regrets here and there. We’ll always feel that we could have done more for our children, or done certain things in a different way. But really, at the end of the day, we all just want our kids to grow up knowing how to differentiate between good and bad, and are able to make wise choices throughout their lives, isn’t it? The best guiding principles have got to be in the Holy Bible, and by letting my kids grow up in church and learning about Jesus Christ is the best I can do for them. I am so glad I am a Christian.
My mum’s parenting style is a very free-spirited one. Haha. She doesn’t interfere in my studies and never for once chided me for getting not-so-good results. Granted, I’ve always been interested in studying and my results have always been good. I am a pretty self-motivated kid, so she really has nothing much to worry about. I’d sulk and cry when I was disappointed with my results, and my mum would be the one telling me that it’s okay not to be the first in class, and that it’s more than enough that I’ve tried my best. My mum always laughed that she didn’t even have to scold me for anything because I’d be the first to blame myself.
Since I was a youth, I have been greatly involved in church activities. I love being in church and hanging around with the friends there. I love reading the bible and learning new things every single week. I’d attend prayer meetings and organise different events and activities. My weekends are basically all spent in church and I love it. It felt very fulfilling. And I think because of that, many of my thoughts and attitudes have been shaped. Even though I still go through the insecure adolescence stage inevitably, but on hindsight, being a Christian and feeling secured and surrounded by love helped me become a confident and happy person today. I do know that no matter what happens, I have Jesus and I have people who really loves me for who I am.
That is why even though my kids may not fully understand now, I bring them to church every single week just so that they can be soaked in the presence of God and cultivate this habit of staying in the House of God. My kids know that we go to church every weekend and it’s something we cannot miss. It is my deepest desire that my kids would love church and grow up to be people who can serve in the House of God and enjoy doing so. Quite frankly, where else can you be surrounded by so much love?
What is the best thing you can do for your kids? =)
