The Happy Home

An 80-year old man is accused of raping a 13 year old relative. A man arrested after he set fire to an apartment and killed three children and a woman.. A rather rapes his seven year old daughter. These are the disturbing reports in the daily newspapers for the past few days. These ugly incidents are on the rise in this day and age. My aunt told me some time ago that in her "young days" these kind of incidents occurred a lot less than they do now. But I disagreed strongly. I told her that in her "young days" (the 1940s and 50s), those incidents were either considered too shameful to be disclosed, or accepted as "matters only for the family's knowledge only." So the adult that was supposed to protect the child's innocence blatantly corrupted it without fear. Maybe it was the custom of the day.
These days, however, it is a different matter. Praise God for that! Children are being taught to speak out when these things happeni to them. More and more, these poor children are taken seriously when they tell a trusted adult what has happened. In my aunt's time, huh! In my country it was "you are a child, and the adult is the boss!" In those days, the adult could say that you are lying and get away with their crime. But no more.
There is so much to be said on this topic. I will write about it for a few days.
The one thing that I would like to leave for children and parents alike. Parents are supposed to protect their children, not harm them. As the Scripture verse said yesterday,  children are God's gift to us. God's gifts are "good and perfect" (James 1:17). As with all good gifts that we receive, let us show our appreciation for our children by loving them and protecting them from harm.

Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey Him...
His wife will give you many children, 
like vine that produces much fruit.
Your children will bring you much good
like olive plants that produce many olives.
This is how the man that respects the Lord will be blessed
                                        (Psalm 11, 3 - 4. New Century Version of the Bible)