At this stage, I should make it clear, just in case my wife and kids are reading, that I have no regrets where they are concerned.
They are blessings beyond my wildest dreams, and I wouldn’t consider, even for a moment, trading them for a life of quiet solitude where I could freely pursue intellectual and spiritual concerns with few impediments.
I recognize the great gifts, graces, and responsibilities that the dual vocations of husband and father include. I understand that these vocations represent God’s Will for my life, and I have no desire to thwart that Will.
My trepidations have to do with how to best fulfill that calling.
One of my concerns is that the material is overemphasized too much in the life of my family.
Am I setting a good enough example? Are my kids learning to value the spiritual over the material well enough that they will be (not just good, but) great servants of the Kingdom as they reach adulthood?
In other words, where my family is concerned, am I the leader they need me to be?
And then, how do the spiritual values I am embracing translate into the real world?
Perhaps a quick example is the best way to express this.
In the house right now, we have at least two, maybe three, video gaming systems. I am not even sure of the number. This includes the Nintendo Wii they got for Christmas last year. All three boys also have their own laptops, which they can use to play video games, including on line games.
However, the two younger boys now want an Xbox 360 Elite. That system is the newest technology, which means it has a couple advantages over what is already in the house. It will stream all the movies and TV shows available on NetFlix directly to the TV set (subscription required, of course). This a slightly bigger deal for my family than most, because I have managed to eliminate Direct TV from the house. It also will allow them to play on line games with buddies who already have that system, each child sitting comfortably in his own home.
Yia Yia has already purchased the system, so it will be there on Christmas morning.
But if I had said a firm no, Yia Yia and Mom would have accepted that, and the boys would have done without.
The question is, have I done the right thing in relenting?