Trick Or Treat? Teaching My Children About Choices

I was surprised when my twelve-year old

asked to go "trick or treating"

with his friends...

at night

alone

and when he returned

(two hours later with a bag full of loot)

my jaw dropped

and THEN...

moments later when he called me into the kitchen

to show me how he had meticulously separated the candy

into piles...

by flavor and brand

I will admit that I was impressed!

and as I looked at

all of those piles

all of those options

the realization hit me

My kid is a young man

and he is already cultivating

skills

dreams

ideas

of his own

(and at some point) 

I am going to have to completely let go and trust that I have

done my job to equip him with good decision making skills

because the day is coming

(and is now upon us)

when he will

venture out

with his friends...

at night

alone

and as he walks through this life he will encounter people

who wish to fill his bag with all sorts of things

some tricks

some treats

some things

that he will find useful

and others that he will not

And so...

-my prayer is that he avoid as many tricks

as humanly possible

-that he be brave enough to unwrap and try some things

(and wise enough to leave others alone)

-I pray he knows the difference and

doesn't try to eat everything all in one night

-I pray his decisions steer him clear of

stomach aches and cavities

-and may he always remember to separate the items

to get a better view of the options laid out before him

-----------------------------

Lord,

one day he will venture out

without me

and I want to

trust

believe

know

that I have prepared him

with the skills that he needs to make

good

wise

prayerful

decisions

with the choices laid out before him...

Choose wisely, son
Choose wisely