THE PARENTS' ROLE IN THE HOME

"We rise early every morning under the grace of God to
gather the mud and the straws to make the bricks to build
a bridge into the future."

Director, So.Central Multi-Purpose Sr. Citizen Center
Founding Member of Grandma's Hands
Lillian Mobley

Good parents, who have embraced their responsibilities, realize that everyday is father's day and everyday is mother's day. There is no day in which either can say, "Today I shall rest my responsibility as a parent." They know that it is their strength and integrity, which serves as the beacon for their family. It is a fact that there's no greater bond upon this earth more powerful than strong parents bonding with their families. This is why parents must remain a
pillar of strength in the home as well as the community.

Parents are no doubt the great foundation upon which the structure of the family unit and strength rest. They are the source of strength and security for the family. This is why, if any sign of weakness appears in the foundation (parents), insecurity and disunity begin developing in the family. Notice that the family can withstand almost any crisis but the falling of parents from their place. It is like a cathedral when the great pillar in the center has fallen. As long as the parents stand, most families will stand. If they fall, however, nothing is more tragic. Not even the falling of a giant tree or the crash of a mountain can fall with equal devastation.
Keep in mind that no influence is more powerful than the guiding hands of parents for their family.

The strong image of a parent just naturally unites the family and brings harmony and security to the home. Unity is the very order of creation. Where there's no unity, there can be no order or respect. The nature of the Creator is order. Consequently, it is unnatural for anything in creation to be without unity. The responsibility of a parent is to unite the family and keep order. You can only keep order by being orderly.

Everything in creation respects unity because unity brings about order. You can be sure that disharmony can have no place in the family of creation. Even natural gravity supports unity. As an example, if two people were leaning back to back, their equal support of each other would allow them to stand, and gravity would support their stand. However, if one would move out of position, they would no longer have the support or respect from gravity and would ultimately fall to the ground. It seems as if even gravity has no respect for disharmony. Another example is a bricklayer building a house; each brick is positioned equally in support of each other. As long as each brick holds its place in support of the whole, the house will remain standing because gravity is in support of balance and harmony. Where there is no harmony in the home, there can be no order or respect among
the family members.

The father and mother serve as equal balance for the family. They both lean on each other for support and bring to the family an equal part of themselves. A person basically consists of two parts, which have to be equally developed. Those parts are the spirit of love and the spirit of strength. Upon these two pillars rests our family identity. Through these parts, we develop intellect, moral and spiritual nature. Before any other part can be developed, these two pillars have to be strongly in place.

Making the Home Work
The home is a place of diverse personalities and emotions. Each personality strives to discover its own identity and place within the family circle. In one's struggle to discover one's place in the family, emotions sometime come into play, especially when we are opposed by other members of the family. Usually when a person is opposed, they will struggle to gain the advantage or a better position than that of the person opposing them. By no means is this unnatural or disruptive. It is the fight in the human spirit.

Consider the small sperm and its instinct to survive in the womb. It will struggle against all odds and never relax its effort to find its place until it ultimately does. By nature, the human spirit is inherently strong. This same sperm in human life changes in forms, but the competitive nature remains the same. It will fight with the same determination as it did in the womb to secure its position. You can be sure it did not leave the combative spirit behind. It came fully equipped to take on life. So when children strive to discover their place, allow them to do so within proper bounds.

The quest of a family member to discover their place in the family is as common as the natural principles in creation. Life generally, is a media of expression. This is why it came into existence in the first place. So then, expression is the highest motivation in life. As a parent, encourage family members to express themselves through ideas, so they can become independent thinkers. Once they have secured themselves in the family circle, they will not only hold their place in the home, but also in the community as well as the world.

We shall come to know that we are created with the spirit of individuality making each of us as unique as a fingerprint. Rather than be discouraged, this should be respected. How do we make this complex machine consisting of the family and the home work? The father and mother should be the strongest two personalities in the household. They should be the first ones to recognize and respect the difference in each member of the family. They must see that all family members' rights are protected, and instill in them the spirit of respect and tolerance towards one other. Let them know that individuality is a natural right and that it is not to be violated. Let's make this machine work.