In the first chapters of "The Defining Moment," Jonathon Alter describes the home in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt was raised. He was born on this date in 1882. Father James was from "the old-money stability and impeccable standing" Roosevelt family and mother Sara was from "the entrepreneurial success of the Delano's." Alter describes that successful financial lineage as "a double-bolted door of invunerability, reinforced by the unusually strong love and attention of his parents." (p. 13)
We've seen the photo of FDR in the back seat of an open car, cigarette holder pointing up, big smile, jaunty and confident. It wasn't simply the money, for we've all known ne'er do wells. It was his parents devotion. Father James often took young Franklin to sports and civic events and mother Sara "was a walking advertisement for the benefits of ceaseless, even suffocating devotion-the only source of consistent affection in her son's life, a rock not just of financial security but of deep maternal love so central to instilling genuine self-confidence." (p. 16)
I suspect many young parents are surprised, sometimes resentful, about how children dominate their lives. That God commands children to honor their parents presumes that parents will devote themselves to the task of raising His children. It's not just about Mother's Day and Father's Day but about every day, about today.
"Teach us to number our days." (Psalm 90-12)
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