by Dave Beckley<\/p>\n
Long ago, my husband wrote the following to one of our sons. To our many sons and daughters today, please read, for he longs the same for each of you.<\/p>\n
Joanne Beckley<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Dear son,<\/p>\n
Your letter was very revealing and open, a reflection of your honesty and confidence in us. We are pleased that you feel you can share your feelings with your mother and me without fear of reprisal. I hope we can maintain your respect in that. Parents are ever on the verge of overreacting to dangerous situations for their children, and we are no exception. The seriousness of your relationship with your sweetheart is a blessing to be safeguarded. You yourself have already identified the tremendous temptations involved and as long as you keep facing the reality of the temptation, you may come through unscathed by the help of God and to His glory.<\/p>\n
As you soar above the clouds in the ecstasy of the loving emotion, we soar with you. There is perhaps no greater emotion in life that can raise man to such rapture. Poets have attempted to describe it, and writers have tried to capture it, but still, it eludes our understanding. It is intoxicating, and there lies the rub. When one is intoxicated, he loses a sense of good judgment and decision-making, and then he loses his inhibitions and ultimately loses his head.<\/p>\n
Soar high, son. Soar higher than any before you. But soar responsibly, in God-ward love of what is best for the object of that love and not out of a love for yourself. And while you soar, understand life has cycles of emotional highs and lows. Recognizing the cycle will not cure the “down” time, but it does let you know what is going on and thus becomes an encouragement to get up and get going in doing good.<\/p>\n
Now that your mother and I have “reacted” to your letter, we can feel satisfied in fulfilling our responsibilities. We love you so very much and want what is best for you.<\/p>\n
Love, Dad<\/p>\n
“Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Dave Beckley Long ago, my husband wrote the following to one of our sons. To our many sons and daughters today, please read, for he longs the same for each of you. Joanne Beckley Dear son, Your letter was very revealing and open, a reflection of your honesty and confidence in us. We are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1028,1034],"tags":[665,149,778,65,29,107],"class_list":["post-50246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","category-parenting","category-teenager","tag-child-rearing","tag-dating","tag-father","tag-love","tag-parenting","tag-raising-children"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24641,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-spoiling-my-youngest-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":50246,"position":0},"title":"Am I spoiling my youngest children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 25, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am nearly sixty and a widower. My wife gave birth early to a set of twins, but she didn't survive the delivery. I was left with children ranging from 10 years of age to sickly premeies. The twins survived and will be 13 soon. They are intelligent; spoiled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2354,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/expository-teaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":50246,"position":1},"title":"Expository Teaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joanne Beckley I find that expository preachers often do not really ask, What's the purpose of this sermon? What should it do in people's lives? If you say, \"Why are you preaching on Romans 5?\" some preachers answer, \"Well, because last week I was in Romans 4. Next week\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24242,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/he-restrained-them-not\/","url_meta":{"origin":50246,"position":2},"title":"He Restrained Them Not (Iverson)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by John Iverson Do you think juvenile delinquency is an evil that is peculiar to our day? If so, then you would do well to read your Bible, particularly such passages as are found in the book of First Samuel. Eli was a judge in Israel and a priest of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/First_Book_of_Samuel_Chapter_2-1_Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media-300x216.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2103,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/may-i-correspond-with-you-about-parenting-issues\/","url_meta":{"origin":50246,"position":3},"title":"May I correspond with you about parenting issues?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings, I recently came across your church's website and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. I am the father of two teenage boys, 13 and 15. I came to Christianity late in life, so it has only been in the last few years that I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59980,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/finding-a-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":50246,"position":4},"title":"Finding a Home","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joanne Beckley Thinking back on Sunday, worshiping at Tshiredzheni (South Africa), I couldn't help but reflect on the trend I see in our increasingly desired larger congregations in America, with their well-dressed worshippers in their beautiful buildings -- and making comparisons . . . Here I was sitting in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14071,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-appropriately-discipline-my-sons\/","url_meta":{"origin":50246,"position":5},"title":"How do I appropriately discipline my sons?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: First, let me say that I'm glad I found your site and I appreciate your parenting advice. I am a widower with two teenage sons - 17 going on 18 and 14 going on 15. 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