Today we
lead such busy lives that many say, "I don't even have time for
prayer. At the end of the say I am so
tired. With Children and the trend of both parents working this is a common
problem these days. The only solution is to make sure you have the right
priorities in your life. To lead a
balanced life you need to struggle to simplify it. First examine why it is necessary for a
mother to work while the children are living at home. Is this a necessity or is it just to gain
material things.
Elder
Paisios advises:
When she
does her housework, can't she pray at the same time? It was my mother who taught me to way the
Jesus Prayer. When we were children and had done some mischief, and my mother
was about to get angry with us, I remembering her saying, "Lord Jesus
Christ, have mercy on me." When she put the bread in the oven, she
would say, "In the name of the
Christ and Panaghia." And whenever
kneading, or cooking, again, she constantly said the Jesus Prayer. In this
manner, she herself was blessed, as were the bread and the food whe was
preparing, and so were those who partook of it later.
I wonder
if in today's world we appreciate the significance of a spiritual
upbringing. The elders of our Church
tell us the mother's traditional role is a most important one. Elder Paisios
says, "The mother's devotion has great significance. If the mother has
humility and fear of God, then family life is smooth." The challenge today
with its materialistic orientation is to seek to simplify life so one parent
can dedicate themselves to the nurturing of their children both physically and
spiritually. Children are geared to learn by observation. You are the models they will begin their life
with. Make that model as close to the image of God as is possible.
A good
friend told me a story of his early child raising days. He had the habit of not going to Church each
Sunday, but he instead stayed in bed and then getting up after his wife and
children had gone to church to read the Sunday paper in peace. One day, is
young son made the comment to his Mom,
"I cant wait until I get as old as Dad. Then I won't have to get up and go to Church
each Sunday. I can stay home and read
the paper and relax." He over heard his son saying this and this woke him
up. He realized he was setting a bad
example for his son. From that day on he
never missed a day in Church.
Source: http://orthodoxwayoflife.blogspot.com.by/2013/07/more-on-raising-children-and-making.html
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