When she knelt in front of me on the cement floor of the conference event center, I gave the answer I usually give, but I wished I’d had more to offer. She wanted to know, “How do I raise my little girls to be better? How do I teach them everyone matters? How do I raise them to embrace everyone?”
I gave my standard answer, sitting on my folding chair, my knees resting against each other and my toes pointed inward. I told her to notice who sits at her dinner table, and I told her to think about the people who invite her to their dinner table. And, I think that matters. I do. I think it matters when our children see people of all cultures and races and religions and abilities and political parties and languages joining us to break bread, right under our roofs.
That beautiful young mom thanked me and she hugged me and squeezed my hand before she walked away, but she got me thinking. I’ve been mulling her question over in my mind and in my heart. Standing in the shower, breathing steam into my lungs, I’ve wondered about a better answer I could give her. One with more practical steps and tangible ways to build a new normal for her girls and for our world.
Because that’s what we’re aiming for, isn’t it? Come on over to incourage to read the rest.
Deidra, Thank you for sharing this. I don’t have my own children yet but yearn for this to encompass the entirety of my walk. I so appreciate this post.