Marriner’s Moments: Shaping The Hearts & Minds of Our Youth – Part 4

Shaping the hearts and minds of our youth is an awesome and sometimes difficult responsibility. While I don’t agree with his religious philosophy, the Dalai Lama’s words ring true: Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay. If we have laid a good spiritual foundation for our youth, we should allow and even encourage them to fly. And, even if they stray – just like the prodigal son – they will return.

This month, as we send our children and young adults off into the world to educate them, let’s continue to pray for them and those to whom we have entrusted them.

Education is the key to success, but it truly ‘takes a village’ to train up a child. Whether they are millennials or centennials, today’s youth are bombarded with so much information and, yes – temptations – that we could never even fathom when we were their age.

Let’s pray that the love, training and values we have tried to instilled in them over the years, will serve them well as they go out into the world.

Let’s continue to bathe them in praye – daily – as they make choices and friendships, while pursuing their dreams. Let’s applaud them when their dreams become reality, and pick them up and encourage them when their disappointments weigh them down.

Let’s make sure that they know and appreciate that – even though they may be on their own for a while – they are forever on our minds and in our hearts.

Let’s celebrate our youth and never stop praying for them knowing that we have done our part – that we have done our best – to shape their hearts and minds.

Peace and power.

© Dr. Melvin O. Marriner,
Grove Church
September 2017