Actions Speak Louder than Words

“In times of stress, the best thing we can do for our children (and each other) is to listen with our ears and hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.” -Fred Rogers, You Are Special (1995)

Controversy has been swirling around the heads of our children. Many families have one or two children and in the large urban areas live in apartments or condos. Children are feeling isolated as they try to cope with online learning and a lack of social stimulation resulting in depression and anxiety. The question on the minds of both children and parents has been ‘Will schools reopen in June or remain closed with online learning until September?’

They finally got the answer on Wednesday of this week when Premier Ford made the announcement that schools would indeed be closed to in-person learning until September. He spoke of the possibility of play dates and summer camps and ended by saying that NOBODY wanted to see the children back in school more that he did!

Only 6 hours later Premier Ford was back on air this time saying how with the schools closed thus doing away with the danger of higher case counts, opening up of business might well be possible ahead of the current rollout schedule. Suddenly his agenda became clear and it wasn’t a concern about the mental health of children! The economy won out. Somehow I don’t think Premier Ford listened to Mr Roger’s Neighbourhood as he was growing up! While his words in making the announcement said one thing, those words spoken just a few hours later told a different story. It is something we have all been guilty of….. saying the words we think others want to hear when in fact we are going to immediately contradict them with our actions.

Part of our faith is speaking our truth…. not what we think others want to hear or what would gain us brownie points or votes - and that is a revolutionary act. As Psalm 15:2 puts it in the Message Bible: ‘Walk straight, act right, tell the truth.’

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NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

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