Sheltered? I’m Glad You Noticed!

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Ray grew up with “printer’s ink in his blood,” as the saying goes, because his daddy worked at his hometown’s newspaper, The Daily Herald. My hometown was much smaller so our newspaper was a weekly. It’s called the Times, though Ray and his daddy used to tease me and call it the Bugle.

These days many newspapers have gone the way of the landline and snail mail, but my mama still subscribes to the Times which our snail mail carrier delivers a day or two after it is published. Mother reads it right away. Though I enjoy reading it, too, I rarely do.

However, Mother had a couple of appointments yesterday, so I picked up a couple of Times and put them in my take-along stack, along with the most recent Gainesboro Sentinel.

I was saddened by most of what I saw on the front page of the Times. Though one of the stories was about thirty volunteers who helped to assemble new playground equipment in a nearby town, the other three front page stories were about sin. One of those was about an adult criminal and two were about local teen drug deaths. Evidence indicates that one of the teens was murdered in Nashville after a drug deal and that the other died after ingesting liquid morphine and Gatorade in a house full of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

I grew up in “Mayberry.” This isn’t supposed to happen there.

As you know, I share positive stories with you on most days. I struggled over whether to tell you this today. I decided to do so to remind you how important it is that you are with your children as you walk along the way, as you sit in your houses, and as you lie down and rise up.

Neither of these boys were with their parents when they died, but neither of them was alone either. The first young man was with four friends; the second was with one friend who was a girl. Friends are so important, but they must be godly friends.

Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
For they cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
Proverbs 4:14-16

Because you homeschool, other folks may accuse you of sheltering your children.
When they do, remember to say, “Thank you. I’m glad you noticed.”

Now flee from youthful lusts
and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace,
with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22

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