15 AprIt’s Official; I’m a Crood

In the past few weeks I have become aware of a horrible theme in the news. High school girls have gotten drunk and then been raped by high school boys they go to school with. The twist of the knife comes when pictures and videos of these girls during the attack are posted around the Internet. In both cases both girls weren’t even aware they had been sexually assaulted until they came upon the pictures that everyone they knew were looking at. In one case the girl was so distraught by the pictures and the humiliation her schoolmates placed upon her that she took her own life. These stories trouble me greatly.

I have three daughters who are very precious to me. I worry about my daughters’ future in such dark and evil world. Of course not all the world is dark and evil. There is much that is bright and beautiful in it.  One comfort I have is that my daughters are being raised in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know, there of those of you who cringe when you hear someone bring up religion. Don’t worry; there will be no preaching here. My daughters are delightful and are well integrated into a world of friends which include Christians, atheists, Hindus, and more. As far as I can tell my daughters love all alike.

As their father I must say that I do find comfort that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a part of my daughters’ daily lives.  Through it they have been taught modesty, chastity, a rejection of alcohol and tobacco, a rejection of profanity and pornography, and a striving for anything that uplifts and brings strength. Of course being taught something and living it are two different things. Fortunately they are surrounded by a wonderful network of people who believe similarly and this brings them strength.

For our family meeting last night, something we call Family Home Evening, I thought I would emphasize the part the Gospel of Jesus Christ plays helping us avoid many of the horrors of this world. To illustrate the dangers that they might face in the world I used these news stories. I tried to touch upon the stories as lightly as possible, but by the end my daughters were tearful and I was left sitting with my mouth open saying, “ Whaaa ..?” I felt horrible that I was the cause of such distress when I was trying to do good. “I just wanted to help protect you by informing you,” I said with great sincerity.

“’The Croods’, Dad. ‘The Croods!’” said one of my daughters. She was referring to the over-protective father in the movie “The Croods” who in order to protect his family locked them in a cave only letting them out when they needed to hunt food. I didn’t see this analogy as entirely accurate, but the allusion had been made and I sat there the bumbling father convicted by three teary daughters. My daughters were teary because they were stung by the injustice done to the girls in the news stories. I admire their empathy.

I may be a “Crood” and have much to learn about raising girls, but I am not ashamed of my desire to teach and protect them. I just have to learn how to do it more efficaciously.