My American Dream

"They walk in all humility and kindness, and falsehood is not found among them, and they love one another. They despise not the widow, and grieve not the orphan. He that has distributes liberally to him who has not. If they see a stranger, they bring him under their roof, and rejoice over him, as (if he) were their own brother; for they call themselves brethren, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit and in God; but when one of their poor passes away from the world, and any one of them see him, then he provides for his burial according to his ability; and if they hear that any of their number is imprisoned or oppressed for the name of their Messiah, all of them provide for his needs, and if it is possible that he be delivered, they deliver him. And if there is among them a man that is poor and needy, and they have not an abundance of necessaries, they fast two or three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food." Aristides, quoted in Reordered Loves, Reordered Lives, by David Naugle p. 144

I have been contemplating what I want to instill in my children. I have struggled with living in America, hearing about the American dream, and wanting my children to want something different. I want them to love God, enjoy His good gifts, and to share their joy with their neighbors. I thought the above quote really summed up what I am striving for. When I picked up the book Reordered Love, Reordered Lives, I was interested in what the author would have to say about happiness. This morning I was trying to figure out how to sum it up.

What it comes down to for me is servanthood. Deep happiness comes in serving others. How un-American is that? So many people around me are seeking to be served, but are still unhappy. Things won't fix the emptiness in our souls. My children spend a great amount of time grasping their things. They are always pointing at their siblings telling them about sharing. We have started pointing out to them, that sharing is giving what you have, not insisting that the one who has gives to them. They have placed more value on their things, than they have on each other. My goal is to reorder their loves, so that they value their people more than their stuff. Much easier said than done.

There was another good quote by Casey Stengel (a former New York Yankees baseball manager) "Managing is getting paid for home runs someone else hits." I have been thinking about that in terms of being Mom. My job is to raise kids that love God and love their neighbor. If I am doing a good job managing them, then they are able to do their jobs of learning and growing. My life is found in them. That is a tough sell in the culture at large. People often say things to me like "oh, so you just stay home," as if I am wasting my life. Most people do not value servanthood. They enjoy being served, but look down on those doing the serving. My life may seem little to those that I meet, but I live it to God. The only true happiness to be found is in Him. My hope is that in laying my life down for my children, God will raise us all up to change the American dream. That all of us would learn the deep happiness of looking out for the needs of others, and finding that our needs are met in the process.