Danger in the Shadows

Well...we made it. My youngest son has come home different. He is no longer the innocent child...but now he knows a little more about the world.

One of the reasons for a trip like the one we took is to let him know about things that he cannot possibly see as a potential danger that are ahead of him. In just a couple years, my son will begin to yearn for more and more freedom...as is natural for every young adolescent. He will think that his mom and dad are holding him back.

I heard Dobson tell a story about a time when he and his daughter raised hamsters for a time. He said he could remember this one furry little fellow that spent most of its adult life trying to break free from the confines of the cage it was in.

It would use its head and shove against the door of the cage. It would pace back and forth as if looking for a weakness in the cage to attempt a break. It would gnaw and chew on the bars of the cage in hopes of getting out.

But little did that hamster know that most of the time, the family dog would sit and wait in the shadows just watching for the opportunity of that hamster escaping. If that little hamster ever did get out, the family dog would make a quick, easy meal of it.

From the vantage point of the hamster, life seems like a little cage with all kinds of impositions and rules and regulations. But from Dobson's perspective, he could see the safety of such a cage and helping that little hamster from becoming some dog's lunch.

My job as dad is to help my son be safe from a savage world that is ready and lurking in the shadows to pounce on him and devour him. I want him to be prepared for such dangers and know where to turn and how to escape.

We made a good start of it this past weekend. It certainly is not over...parenting isn't over in a weekend...but we have laid a good foundation. I have been incredibly blessed to be able to raise such good young men as my two sons!