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| Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons Imagens Evangelicas |
Dear Husbands of my Daughters,
Are your wives mistrusting of you because of your gender? I’m sorry. This may be my fault. You see, as I’m writing this, the girls are 13 and 11. Lately we’ve had many conversations about the goings on in the world around us. I’m afraid the message comes down to this:
Men are scary.
The topic of human trafficking is in everyday conversation. Our church supports organizations working to save women and young girls from sexual slavery. Of course, my daughters question what this all means. As a result, men come off looking pretty bad.
When my daughters ask for freedom to walk around the shopping mall without me, I hesitate. The 11 year old is still to young, but the teenager? She doesn’t understand why some of her friends get to shop without their parents. I’m slowly giving her more and more leeway, but I remain cautious and pray every second she’s out of my sight. Men who steal and sell young girls don’t always “look” scary. Contrary, any man could be suspect.
Social media has taken over and the girls know any site they visit needs to be approved by mom and dad. Our established rule requires us parents to have access to all accounts and have veto rights on any comments. “But, Mom,” they whine, “these are just other girls like us!”
“No, honeys, one of those commenters may be a 53 year old man acting like a young girl.”
Eww. Again. Reason to mistrust.
I’m beginning to see the advantages of arranged marriage. I watch how some of my friends raise their boys; these future men will have the foundation of respect, goodness, and open-heartedness. I pray my girls are fortunate to only have encounters with men like these. Unfortunately, our culture frowns upon parents picking spouses for their daughters.
Stupid culture.
Just kidding.
Sort of.
I will do my best to differentiate between good males and bad, but it’s not always easy. If your wife shies away from certain things, earn her trust. Treat her kindly. Treat her with respect. Treat her like a princess. Treat her as Christ did the church.
With love and hope,
Your Mother-in-law
Related Posts:
Men, You’re Part of the Solution
Human Trafficking. Slavery is Real. Do Something.
Twice Cleansed: Soap with a Story
The good news? Your girls have the gigantic benefit of knowing how great some men can be. They have an amazing Dad, as well as some fantastic male relatives and family friends.
To my friends with sons – thank you for raising wonderful young men. I am doing my best to raise girls who will have the discernment and confidence in themselves to recognize their qualities. It also helps that they have a dad that instills self worth. The contribution you make in instilling not only self worth, but respect for women is more important than ever before.