Monday, September 29, 2008

Our Changing World

When I was six years old and my brother was five, my mother used to give us each 35 cents on Saturdays and we'd walk two miles down the road (and mind you it was a very busy street) to the movie theater and watch a double-feature. They would both be action flicks with enough blood and gore to rival any of today's movies. Other times we would wander around town trying to find things to do, anything to keep us busy. We would go to tent revivals, walk through tall grassy fields scrounging for loose change that had been dropped by various people, and believe me we found a lot. And sometimes we would walk through other broken down neighborhoods just because we could.

Our world sure has changed. Now a parent wouldn't dare let a five or six year old be out of their sight that long, much less travel around the way we did because it would be too dangerous. The days of that kind of innocent freedom are long gone. I've told my kids some of the stories of my childhood and it's hard for them to comprehend being that carefree, which is sad to be because they are children, and everything about being a child should be carefree.

Even with the dangers, there is still so much good in this world. Our children are growing up to be stronger and much smarter than the youth in my day. Of course, with those traits comes more opposition, but that is to be expected. Even the strongest spirits are not immune to the world. Thankfully they are still born with that extra little umph to give the world a swift kick so their light can shine and chase that dark part of this life away.

And that is my wish-that not only our children, but us adults as well, will draw upon that extra umph we've been blessed with to be stronger than the world and chase the dark parts of this life away with our own bright light.

Suggested Reading

Book: The Ariana Trilogy
Author: Rachel Ann Nunes
Publisher: Deseret Book

The Book


Three bestselling novels are now available in a single volume! Ariana: The Making of a Queen begins the story of an extraordinary young woman who struggles to find hope and meaning in the face of unimaginable suffering. In the second volume, Ariana: A Gift MostPrecious, Ariana's faith is tested as she faces life- and- death consequences of past choices. And in Ariana: A New Beginning, Ariana discovers that her reliance on the Lord and her love for her family can make the dramatic difference between triumph and tragedy. This rare and compelling series was originally published more than a decade ago and immediately established author Rachel Ann Nunes as one of the most popular romance writers in the LDS market.

I was so happy to get a copy of this trilogy and I love having all three books in one volume. I read them all for the second time in a couple of days, and just like the first time, I cried through them:o) This is truly a great series.
The Ariana Trilogy can be purchased at your local bookstore or by logging on to deseretbook.com

The Journey is available on jadamsnovels.com

3 comments:

Cheri J. Crane said...

Good thoughts, Jewel. =)I remember riding my bike all over our neighborhood as a child. The world did indeed seem a safer place. But as you said, the youth of today are stronger and extremely valiant. I love working with them in YW.

As for the Ariana series---I love those books, too.

Jewel's Gems said...

Thanks, Cheri. I've gotten to the point now that I don't cringe when my nine year old goes on a bike ride around the neighborhood. It's tough, though:o)

ali cross said...

I feel the same way about my boys and their childhood. They are boys, they should be roaming all over the neighborhood on their bikes, digging in dirt piles and collecting rocks. BUT unless I am with them, I can't let them go beyond our neighborhood and everyone owns the land and no one wants them digging on their property! I've had to give up one of my gardens so they could have the experience ;)

But they still can't experience the freedom that was a part of my childhood and yours. Freedom to shape their own lives, their destinies ... freedom to be kids.

No wonder TV and videogames have grown so popular - kids aren't free to LIVE their lives beyond twenty feet in front of their house, so they have to LIVE it somewhere else! It's crazy.