Protecting Our Children

How do you protect your children in a fallen world?

The intro:
I wish I could tell my child that if she does what's right, no harm will befall her.
I could never tell her such a huge lie.

I will always tell her about Love - God's Love, her family's love, the love she should have for herself. She is to always show love to others.  But I can't tell her about Good without telling her the dark truths and the warning stories as well.

Never act in such a way that you give an evil-filled person an excuse to harm you.

Gender. Race. Nationality.  Height. The clothes you wear. The music you listen to.  People find reasons to make assumptions about you.


The stories (as brief as possible):
***Living with my parents as a high-schooler, I invited a new friend over.  They walked into my ridiculously large, two-staircase, expansive Texas home and asked not "Is your dad a CEO" "Is your dad a lawyer" nope, instead, "is your dad a drug dealer?" - high school friend

***Driving along in my Honda as a relatively new but attentive driver, some lady almost ran me off the road. I had to veer off road into a parking lot to avoid a sideswipe impact when this lady didn't realize her lane was ending.  She pulled in the parking lot.  She didn't tell me she was sorry or that she didn't see me, she told me to go back to Mexico.  I'm Salvadoran by the way. - random driver

***Moving away for college is bittersweet. What better way to feel independent, adult, free?  I missed my family so much during orientation that I got in my car and drove the two hours back home from Waco.  It's exciting but not easy to leave the nest.  I'm in my dorm room unpacking my belongings and trying to settle in to an unfamiliar place.  Blah, blah, I hardly remember the conversation..."oh but I actually had to work hard in high school to get here, I'm not Hispanic."  Shock.  We'd had one class together in high-school - regular Algebra - as in not Honors, not AP, not my typical course load.  I'd seen my name on the "As" whiteboard in that class after every test and had never seen her name on that list. - college peer

***I was in college and wanted to go to law school. I scheduled a meeting with the pre-law advisor to try to figure out which law school would be the best fit and for guidance regarding my application packets.  The guy told me I didn't have what it took to go to law school and that I should look into teaching or nursing. I have nothing against teaching or nursing, but that's not what I felt called to.  If you google top tier law school you will see that Notre Dame is in the top tier to this day.  I graduated with high grades and scored in the top 8% of all would-be-lawyers who had taken the LSAT. - pre-law advisor

***Driving home from law school took about 18 hours.  After something like hour 15 I "veered into the fog lane".  For that, I was charged at with an officer who had his hand on his gun.  He demanded that I immediately get out of the car, place my hands on the trunk, and - apparently when I didn't move fast enough - he asked me if I "even speak English".  I've had so few people yell at me in my life - even my parents show me such great respect and have better communication skills - I froze after getting out of my car just from the shock of the whole situation.  The officer eventually apologized for delaying my return home from law school when he realized I had a Portland Texas police officer in the car as my passenger. - police officer

***I often have to depose people as part of my job and I hear the same thing over and over.  Are you the court reporter?  Surely I can't be the lawyer. - lawyers and their staff

I can assure you that there's 100 more stories but I don't recall them all at this moment because I'm not inclined to dwell on such things.  There are great people and people that would seek to harm/oppress/insult/hate/belittle you in all walks of life.  Some you come across as high-school classmates, other drivers, college peers, pre-law advisors (who are later let go!), police officers, lawyers, etc.  Those people don't represent their profession, their university, their community.  There are many great people in all of those areas of life, but the reality is that there are dangerous people in those areas of life as well.


The conclusion:
I will teach my daughter -
Always break through others' prejudices. Don't live up to people's assumptions. Be true to yourself and let your true identity overcome the lies that others would have you believe about yourself.
I will teach my daughter -
Be smart. Be safe. Be humble. Never act in such a way that you give an evil-filled person an excuse to harm you.