Seeing the Man behind the Curtain

Friendship can be a pretty mixed-up bag.

I’m talking about situations when a friend is facing what he/she perceives as a “difficult” choice, but the correct choice is crystal clear to YOU! Like in the Wizard of Oz when the Wizard keeps saying “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” But Dorothy and her friends see the truth, no matter how hard the Wizard tries to maintain the illusion.

I’ll give you an example.

A friend of mine is facing a situation where her husband is only able to work construction jobs a couple months out of the year. This is obviously creating financial hardship for the family. She has her degree and could easily make more money than he does to support the family. However, she wants to be a stay-at-home mom. Things have gotten so bad; they are having difficulty keeping the cupboards stocked.

She is torn about what to do. I just don’t understand what the conflict is – Go To Work! Provide for your family! In her situation, the kids would still be able to have one parent at home. In my book, that makes them pretty fortunate. And who cares if it’s her husband and not her? Well, besides her, obviously. I mean, they would still be able to make it on one salary. Plus, she would finally be able use her degree which she worked long and hard to earn.

While I’m rambling on about stay-at-home parents, I would like to ask when daycare (of course, I mean a qualified daycare!) became the CENTER OF ALL EVIL? Since when did it become a stigma for Christian parents to put their children in daycare? Huh?

I was in daycare from age 3 until I started kindergarten. Let me tell you what daycare did for me. I learned how to share, how to get along with others, how to resolve conflict, how to respect authority, how to socialize, how to live within a structure society. I learned there were consequences for bad behavior. I gleaned information from other kids that helped expand my own knowledge. And, not to mention, I had a ball!

Now, I know there are a lot of really good reasons why parents don’t send their kids to daycare – finances and such, but as a child of daycare, I’m just a little tired of seeing it get unjustly bashed.

We don’t live in an antiquated society anymore. Thank goodness! Just because someone has different reproductive organs does not mean they are limited to doing just one thing or just the other. God gave us various talents and abilities that He doesn’t want to see go UNUSED.

I think everyone should decide for themselves what works best for their family. But something to keep in mind - just because something is the way you’ve always done it, doesn’t mean it’s the right way. Or the only way.