In early January 2019 I was helping a church member clean the church one Saturday when a little boy came by. He asked what we were doing, and if he could help.
“Sure!” I said and handed him a broom. I gave him some instructions and promised a twenty-five cent piece when the job was done. He proceeded to give the church one of the best cleanings it ever had!
Of course that wasn’t about the twenty-five cent piece
it was about the sense of accomplishment….and being with me
Last week I started re-reading “The Vanishing American Adult” by Ben Sasse. In it he explains the teen years were created for hard work, development of maturity, and education. Instead many teens waste those years on silly things, and therefore cannot be strong adults in the future.
In other words…..children a job, rules, and an environment in which they can grow.
Sadly many young people in the Caribbean don’t have this kind of structure because they come from single parent homes (almost always mother) and the youngest child demands the parents care. So the other children have no structure or supervision!
Of course I am not that boys father
but I can build moments of structure or teaching into his life
The world today like never before has children with too much freedom, and too little structure. What they long for is someone who will put a broom in their hand, a job to do, and a reward.
They long for someone who will care.
Johnhwilburn.com 
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