Obladi Oblada...Life Goes On

The song says, "Obladi, oblada, life goes on." Things change, problems arise. But life goes on. How you handle this is the real question. Do you build a home sweet home and do your pretty face, or do you get mired down in the situations life throws at you? Our children are consistently watching us to see how we deal with life's little irritations. Someone cuts in front of you in line and you lose it. Another child is mean to yours and you go on a tirade about the child and his parents. Or maybe you say nothing......ever. You sit and do nothing as life falls around you. How do we teach our children when we need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and be the "doers" God has called us to be, and when to be still and quiet and let God work it all out. I think the answer is we are called to do both. We are called to pray to God in times of trouble and to listen for the answer. But when he calls us to move we should never sit on our hands. If He calls us to move He will be with us every step. We teach our children by our actions. Are our children watching us sit and do nothing that God has called us to do? We need to teach our children that when bad things happen, and they will, we can either complain about the situation or take positive steps to change the situation. Having  an action to take is sometimes the most comforting thing in a child's eyes. Even if that action is simply praying and being positive. It is still taking action. Of course we are not called to go full throttle into a situation to "fix it" without having thought or prayed it through. But standing still, taking no action whatsoever, is not "fixing it" either. So let's teach our children to PAT. Pray for guidance. Act according to God's will. Thank God for His guidance. Standing still, wringing my hands has never worked for me and it won't work for my children. Life goes on....let's go on with it.