Encouraging our children

Several months ago, we received a flyer from Discovery Bound announcing a major event for teens they were organizing for Memorial Weekend in New York City. It was a program designed to get students interested in Christian Science together for a weekend of fellowship, and participate in workshops led by successful performers, artists, and musicians who would talk about how spirituality and the Arts work together.

The group would attend a Lion King performance, go on a dinner/dance cruise, see main attractions in NYC, and overall, have a really fun time.

The weekend was financially underwritten by a generous foundation, so was very affordable for anyone wanting to attend.

When we mentioned the idea to our 2 teenagers, they had little interest in going. At first, we dropped the idea, figuring, oh well, it’s no big deal. But we also believed they were passing up on an activity they would thoroughly enjoy and benefit from.

Living in the Tri-Cities can feel remote at times. We are a small community.

Our teens are nearing college age and I want them to know before they go out on their own that there are thousands of teenagers just like them around the world loving and practicing Christian Science successfully just like they are. Getting together with like-minded individuals and sharing spiritual experiences can strengthen one’s own faith and commitment to Truth.

It’s tough to know as a parent sometimes, how far to promote a new idea to your children. Decisions need to be made out of genuine desire and not forced through human will.

We believed in this case, that they weren’t seeing the positive possibilities of participating in this event, so we prayed for what to do. We didn’t give up on the idea!

So, we listed all the benefits the trip had to offer and my wife and I repeated them to the kids. We asked them to seriously consider going, but made it clear that it was their choice.

The children said “They’d think about it.”

After a few days of thought, the kids decided to “give it a try.”

Yay! So we made plans.

Kathy and I dropped them off at the International Hostel in NYC last Friday night with a hundred or so other teens that were also attending.

At this point, the kids expected to have a good time, and had no problem letting mom and dad take off and leave them there. That was a good sign!

Kathy and I spent the next two days in the City, which I will blog more about after this, and picked the kids up Monday morning. And they were as happy and delighted as could be. The weekend had been a grand success. New friends had been made, the program was fabulous, and their faith had been strengthened.

Kathy and I were thrilled we had followed through.

One lesson I learned from this, is to not let resistance to a new idea prevent one from trying something new. Mortal mind works overtime to stop progress.

You may have noticed in your own life, that when a new progressive idea presents itself, 10 reasons not to do it also appear. Resistance to progress is endemic in mortal ways of thinking.

We have to be alert to this often subtle form of evil denying our right to experience ever-increasing amounts of good in our life. We have to be willing to leave our comfort zone and pioneer a bit. A few brave steps into unknown territory can be very rewarding.

That was certainly the case for our family last weekend.

We are still basking in the glow of a very successful trip. And thanks to Discovery Bound for making it happen!