Our Children Are Going to a Time and Place that We Will Never See? (What are we Sending ?)
(This was written on 4/30/14)
When I was a child, we would play a variation of ‘hide-and-seek’. There would be a ’sentinel’ appointed at ‘base’ to “HOLD THE KEEP”. They guarded the ‘base’ so no one could come and seek refuge there, because if you ‘blocked yourself’ on base, you ‘won’ and could not be captured.
Does your child know their responsibility to “HOLD THE KEEP”? Teach your children to stand in DEFENSE of the FUTURE that we will never see.
I had the privilege of hearing an amazing speaker and business partner, Lupe Gamez speak at a business meeting.
Of the many meaningful and motivational things he said, this is what I have not been able to get out of my mind:
“Your children. They’re going to a time that you will never see.
What message are you sending with them?”
This gripped my heart.
Then, this morning, I was listening to something and this word jumped out and set up camp in my mind.
I looked it up in the dictionary…
sen·ti·nel
noun
1.
a person or thing that watches or stands as if watching.
2.
a soldier stationed as a guard to challenge all comers and prevent a surprise attack: to stand sentinel.
3.
to watch over or guard as a sentinel.
verb (used with object), sen·ti·neled, sen·ti·nel·ing or ( especially British ) sen·ti·nelled,sen·ti·nel·ling
Related forms
sen·ti·nel·like, adjective
sen·ti·nel·ship, noun
un·sen·ti·neled, adjective
un·sen·ti·nelled, adjective
Origin:
1570–80; < Middle French sentinelle < Italian sentinella, derivative of Old Italian sentina vigilance ( Latin sent( īre ) to observe) + -īna -ine2 )
Synonyms
1, 2. sentry, guard, watch, lookout.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
I got very emotional as I read the Definition of this word.
When I first heard Lupe say:
“Your children. They’re going to a time that you will never see. What message are you sending with them?”
I immediately thought of the way we parent our children, relate to them, discipline them, transfer our morals and values; and (with all I am learning lately) I was thinking “in regards to their self-talk”. So my first thought was a personal and self-image kind of “message”.
But then this morning I heard that word “sentinel”. It was like a bullet that pierced my heart. Tears flowed as I realized how we have failed. We as a people have failed to convey to our children the importance of “standing guard”, as a soldier against that which would come against our freedoms, our beliefs and our futures! And “to prevent a surprise attack”, wow, this reminded me of a quote by Edmund Burke:
“The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing.”
I feel that we have fallen into, or been lulled into, a complacency. WHERE HAVE ALL THE SENTINELS GONE?? If there aren’t any Sentinels today…. There will be non tomorrow.
I have a challenge for parents. Don’t allow media to influence and mold the moral values and virtues of your children! This is a deep subject, and I welcome any and all comments and opinions. Lets band together and vow to “hold the keep”.
When I was a child, we would play a variation of ‘hide-and-seek’. There would be a ’sentinel’ appointed at ‘base’ to “HOLD THE KEEP”. They guarded the ‘base’ so no one could come and seek refuge there, because if you ‘blocked yourself’ on base, you ‘won’ and could not be captured.
A KEEP (from the Middle English kype) is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by Europeannobility. They were usually considered as fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the castle fall to an adversary. There is a vast and interesting history, but suffice to say, the stone KEEPS during the 10th and 11th centuries were built with a round, square or rectangular design, made with Stone, and could take up to a decade to build.
HOLD THE KEEP!
They carried considerable political as well as military importance, and the younger generation were taught how to seek refuge there, and given explicit instruction and were very well educated on the culture, beliefs and moral standard of the country/kingdom, were all the leaders and rulers be killed. They held the future in their hands.
Are you teaching your children to ‘HOLD THE KEEP’ for coming generations?
Deuteronomy 11:18-21 “Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Inscribe them on the doorposts and gates of your cities so that you’ll live a long time, and your children with you, on the soil that God promised to give your ancestors for as long as there is a sky over the Earth.” The Message (MSG)