I am continually amazed by how inspired The Family: A Proclamation to the World truly is. Not only does it help us understand our identity as children of God, it also helps us understand our role in His divine plan. As stated above, it is the fathers' responsibility to provide for his family. Does this mean women can't join the labor force? No. If women can join the labor force and provide for themselves and their children, then this must mean that women and children simply don't need men in their lives, right? Absolutely not. It is truly a shame that people start to believe men to be what media portrays husbands and fathers to be "annoying accessories & buffoons."
While I do believe that men and women should have the same rights and opportunities, I do not believe that we are to try to outdo one another. Men and women were created to complement each other, not to compete one against the other. As Paul taught us in the New Testament "neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord"
Fathers are vital in their children's lives. Although they spend long hours away from home in order to provide for their families financially, they also provide confidence and security. They teach their little girls what to look for in a man, and their sons how to be an honorable man. Professor Brad Wilcox of University of Virginia noted "nearly every shooting over the last year in Wikipedia's list of U.S. school attacks' involved a young man whose parents divorced or never married in the first place. Additionally, a study on older male shooters found similar connections to growing up fatherless."
There is a marvelous article titled "Family Work" that has caused me to reflect upon my bringing up and the role my daddy played in helping me become the woman I am today. Eighteen years ago my parents, siblings and I made a decision that would change the trajectory of our lives and the lives of our posterity forever. At that time we lived in Chile, my "mami" was a stay at home mom/ housewife while my "papi" was the main provider for our family. Being that he wasn't in his home country, and had not achieved more that a Bachelors degree he struggled to make ends meet. He often worried about the future and opportunities his children would have if he didn't do something to change the situation we were in. After wrestling with this concern for an extended period time as we weighed our options, we finally decided to move to the United States where my father would get a Masters degree to better provide for us and we would have more opportunities to excel.
We made the move well aware that it would be challenging and sacrifices would need to be made. Let me just tell you that life as an immigrant is not easy, specially not when you have a family to provide for. For one, it is hard to find a decent paying job when you don't speak the language of the country you are living in. My dad knew some English but not much. He was admitted to Brigham Young University where he first studied English at the ELC, then proceed to earn a Masters in Public Administration and another in Education. The journey was long and very demanding. My dad would wake up before dawn to deliver two routes of newspapers, go home, get ready, have scripture study with us, and book it to the bus stop where he'd catch the bus that took him to campus. He'd then spend most of the day in classes and studying, just to go home for a quick dinner and then go clean some buildings on campus for a little extra money.
Despite his efforts, this was not enough to pay for his education and all of our expenses. My mom had to go out and work in order to make sure we had what we needed. She didn't know a lick of English and the best job she could find was cleaning houses. She would wake up early and get us all ready for school, prepare breakfast, pack our lunches and take us to school. Then she'd work about 7 hours while we were off and she'd make sure to be home by the time we got out of school. It wasn't rare for us to take turns going to help our parents out at work both during the school year and summer vacation. My dad also had a few side jobs that he could bring home and we'd all work on it together as a family. We kids usually didn't get allowances, but we felt accomplished knowing that the work we were doing was helping provide for the things we had.
The reason I share all of this with you is because my siblings and I learned much about the value and ethic of work. We learned about sacrificing things we wanted in order to avoid debt. We learned how to budget, share, and live frugally. You see, there is something absolutely wonderful that happens when mom and dad don't compete against each other, trying to prove that one's contribution is more important than the others'. When fathers lovingly preside over the family and mothers nourish. When we all sacrifice and help one another fulfill our roles. When parents and children come together and work to build a home.
I hope we will all take the initiative to learn more about our divine identity as children of God, and be more willing to sacrifice our wants in order to help one another fulfill our roles in our family units.
Here are a few more links to articles that can help you and your family better manage your finances and gain a greater perspective of what a Father is:
One for the Money
Staying at home: How to downsize from dual to single income
Earthly Father, Heavenly Father
Fathers are vital in their children's lives. Although they spend long hours away from home in order to provide for their families financially, they also provide confidence and security. They teach their little girls what to look for in a man, and their sons how to be an honorable man. Professor Brad Wilcox of University of Virginia noted "nearly every shooting over the last year in Wikipedia's list of U.S. school attacks' involved a young man whose parents divorced or never married in the first place. Additionally, a study on older male shooters found similar connections to growing up fatherless."
There is a marvelous article titled "Family Work" that has caused me to reflect upon my bringing up and the role my daddy played in helping me become the woman I am today. Eighteen years ago my parents, siblings and I made a decision that would change the trajectory of our lives and the lives of our posterity forever. At that time we lived in Chile, my "mami" was a stay at home mom/ housewife while my "papi" was the main provider for our family. Being that he wasn't in his home country, and had not achieved more that a Bachelors degree he struggled to make ends meet. He often worried about the future and opportunities his children would have if he didn't do something to change the situation we were in. After wrestling with this concern for an extended period time as we weighed our options, we finally decided to move to the United States where my father would get a Masters degree to better provide for us and we would have more opportunities to excel.
We made the move well aware that it would be challenging and sacrifices would need to be made. Let me just tell you that life as an immigrant is not easy, specially not when you have a family to provide for. For one, it is hard to find a decent paying job when you don't speak the language of the country you are living in. My dad knew some English but not much. He was admitted to Brigham Young University where he first studied English at the ELC, then proceed to earn a Masters in Public Administration and another in Education. The journey was long and very demanding. My dad would wake up before dawn to deliver two routes of newspapers, go home, get ready, have scripture study with us, and book it to the bus stop where he'd catch the bus that took him to campus. He'd then spend most of the day in classes and studying, just to go home for a quick dinner and then go clean some buildings on campus for a little extra money.
Despite his efforts, this was not enough to pay for his education and all of our expenses. My mom had to go out and work in order to make sure we had what we needed. She didn't know a lick of English and the best job she could find was cleaning houses. She would wake up early and get us all ready for school, prepare breakfast, pack our lunches and take us to school. Then she'd work about 7 hours while we were off and she'd make sure to be home by the time we got out of school. It wasn't rare for us to take turns going to help our parents out at work both during the school year and summer vacation. My dad also had a few side jobs that he could bring home and we'd all work on it together as a family. We kids usually didn't get allowances, but we felt accomplished knowing that the work we were doing was helping provide for the things we had.
The reason I share all of this with you is because my siblings and I learned much about the value and ethic of work. We learned about sacrificing things we wanted in order to avoid debt. We learned how to budget, share, and live frugally. You see, there is something absolutely wonderful that happens when mom and dad don't compete against each other, trying to prove that one's contribution is more important than the others'. When fathers lovingly preside over the family and mothers nourish. When we all sacrifice and help one another fulfill our roles. When parents and children come together and work to build a home.
I hope we will all take the initiative to learn more about our divine identity as children of God, and be more willing to sacrifice our wants in order to help one another fulfill our roles in our family units.
Here are a few more links to articles that can help you and your family better manage your finances and gain a greater perspective of what a Father is:
One for the Money
Staying at home: How to downsize from dual to single income
Earthly Father, Heavenly Father
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