To Vaccinate or Not Vaccinate....Is That The Question?

by Jennie Smith
Secondary Principal

Is there a hotter topic right now among parents?  I know that I have seen both sides of this issue in my news feed... A dad angry because his child with cancer had been exposed at a facility here in the Valley...Explanations of why her child cannot be vaccinated...even a video montage of shows from the 1960's showing that measles is not that bad.  It's everywhere and passions are up on both sides of this issue because of the recent outbreak that dominates our news.

The question of this blog really isn't should we vaccinate our children...the question is:  can we respect the decisions other parents make for their own children?  Can we choose to have healthy discussion with one another without calling names?  Parenting is so hard and making choices for our children is even more challenging in an information saturated society that makes it difficult to tell what is true and what is false.   There can be healthy debate, but I see so many of us being unkind, and sometimes downright mean, to a parent who has made a different choice than we would.

My dearest, lifelong friend has a daughter with autism.  It was heart wrenching to watch this beautiful child grow into this disease.  When her second daughter was born, she chose not to vaccinate.  When I was pregnant with my third, she asked me to reconsider my position on vaccination.  We had a lovely conversation one afternoon.  She told me her journey, her research, her heart on the issue.  I asked questions.  Then I did my own study and explored options with my pediatrician and chose to vaccinate on a more extended schedule.  She didn't rail against me for my decision.  I certainly won't blame her for hers.  Actually, because there is no way for me to even imagine what she deals with on a daily basis raising a special needs child, I would in no way - not ever - challenge her decisions in this area.  No way!  But we can have healthy, loving discussion between us.  But then we make the decision to support and love each other no matter what.

And it's not just vaccinations for which we judge other parents...
To nurse or bottle feed
To spank or not to spank
To put your child in Christian school, public school, or home school
To celebrate Halloween or skip it

This list can become lengthy.  The conversations can become ugly.

I read a great article last week on the topic of judgement, and I think we can apply its principles to this discussion.  First it clarifies that judging should only come in issues of righteousness.  John 7:24 says "Do not judge according to appearances, but judge with righteous judgement" (NASB).  If we are judging in any other way, we judge in self-righteousness, not God's.

But even when we do judge, or challenge, a parent in an area of God's truth, we need to inspect ourselves first.  In another teaching on judgement, Jesus said "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye" (Matthew 7:3-5, NASB).  Let's be sure to approach one another with clean heart before God.

I love the way the article encourages us to talk to people:  "The point of this passage is not to forbid judging. On the contrary, it encourages judgment that is grace-filled and humble, a love-filled judgment that brings a fellow believer into right standing before God.  We walk beside the person because we too struggle with our own sin. We judge not by our own authority, but by the Authority that will one day judge us all" (Mitchell, paragraph 8).

May I challenge you to apply this idea to the hot topics we as parents tend to argue with each other about?  Walk beside each other as a fellow struggler in this great journey we call parenthood.  Be filled with grace and be humble.  Most of all, love another. And in all things bring honor and glory to our Heavenly Father, the greatest parent of us all!

Learn more about Faith Christian School at www.faith-christian.org


Owens, Mitchell.  "Teaching Our Children to Judge."  For the Family.  March 28, 2014.  Retrieved January 31, 2014 from http://forthefamily.org/teaching-children-judge/

Be Intentional

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As I read Jennie’s blog last week, I was struck by the deep and special relationship that she and her grandmother shared. I fear that relationships such as these are becoming rarer and rarer as we go through our lives in a hurried frenzy. Unfortunately, death is what often forces us to examine our relationships and recognize the importance of taking the time to invest in people. This was never more real to me than when I lost my oldest sister in a car accident in 2001 and then my dad a few years later to heart failure. How quickly we recognize the opportunities that can be lost forever in just a few moments. We all know that life is busy. In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we often feel forced to let things fall by the wayside just to stay afloat. Unfortunately, the casualties of our busyness are often our relationships. 

What’s interesting is that most of us fully recognize that relationships are important. Most would also firmly agree that they WANT to strengthen their relationships with people. And yet, we find ourselves saying, “We should get together sometime” over and over again without ever following through. We may fully intend to make that call to a family member, or set up a night out with the girls, but I’ve come to realize that my good intentions will never turn into action without BEING INTENTIONAL. 

How much time does it really take to send a quick text to let someone know you are thinking about them? While you are skimming your Facebook feed to keep up-to-date on the latest happenings of your friends, how often do you actually write one of them a quick message? Maybe a quick email? Believe me. I’ve heard the excuses . . . actually, I frequently make them. “I just don’t have time.” 

Really? There are 24 hours in my day and I can’t spare 1 minute of it to tell someone I care? 

Let’s face it. Hour-long conversations with each of our friends would be wonderful, but most of us can’t commit to taking that much time. That doesn’t mean that we need to give up all together though! Take baby steps—even if that means programming the calendar on your phone to remind you to contact one friend a day or even a week. I have recently found that I can have events repeat on my phone for up to 50 years! It may seem ridiculous to have to take such extreme measures, but it is being intentional. It is saying, “Relationships are important and I am going to be intentional about letting people know I care about them.” 

God did not create us to be alone. We were designed for relationship—first with Him, but also with others. I know what you may be thinking. “I am surrounded by people every day!” While this is true for most of us, I would venture to say that most of us rarely take the time to intentionally invest time in those people. What a blessing results when we do though!

The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:  If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”

 

Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

Of course you will still have relationships that will never go deeper than the surface. That’s okay.  But are you thinking of someone right now that you’ve been meaning to connect with? Do it! Send the text. Send the facebook message. Send the email. You will be glad that you did! And the person that receives it may need the encouragement more than you will ever know.