On the Upbringing of Children ...

by Bishop Irenaius

I have read this book before - probably a couple of times :)
I find it time to read it yet again. After all that our family has been through in the last year, discipline has drifted by the wayside it seems. There are times when I feel such overwhelming grief at what I have allowed my family to come to... but all hope is NOT lost, for we serve a mighty King and He shall see us through to the other side. Thankfully!

So I thought I might give my thoughts and whatnots as I read along bit by bit.

In the preface, St. Xenia Skete mentions that there is a plethora of child rearing books available more so than any other time. This has actually plagued my thoughts more than it probably should have over the years - long before I came to the Orthodox faith. Now as an Orthodox Christian and a Psychology major (one of my majors anyway!) - I have come to discover something that makes me very glad I have not chosen to go into the field of Psychology for the purpose of clientele. I am not sure that I could serve them correctly. See, for the most part psychology as we study it in secular school is for the secular. Don't get me wrong, even Christians have psychological problems that need to be diagnosed and dealt with - and the psychology we learn in school can definitely help us to identify a variety of problems that need attending to. BUT there is a sub-group of issues that we, in general, like to just medicate rather than find a therapy that honestly works. I've discovered over the years that the Lord always has an answer. We just have to follow His commands and we shall be healed. The problem is sometimes following those commands are hard and require work and self-discipline and self-denial. Clinical psychologists seem to prance around the bush and coddle instead of getting to the point where the client/patient feels uncomfortable and makes the changes necessary.

As late as it is I doubt this even makes sense to most!! Before any one tells me, "Yeah, easy for you to say, you haven't been there," let me tell you I have been there - as in to the brink of death been there. There are some issues that are still there and still need work on. Yes, depression is one of them, as I have mentioned in previous posts. It kinda caught me off guard this time around since it's been several years since my last bout with it. But I am happy to say I am on the road to triumph. I know that it takes time, I know what I have to work through, I know I need to get back to the Lord and following His ways more closely than I have been.

Anyway, all of that to say ... no matter what the current trends in child psychology, no matter what manner of "scientific evidence" there is to "back it up" there is only ONE way to rear our children - the way of the Lord. That's it. There is no other worthy of our time.