Used Children

Well, that got your attention, didn't it?  What a horrible, heart breaking thought.  But, they are everywhere.  Children who have been abused, abandoned, ignored.  Used.  And, you pretty much expect to see that when dealing with CPS and the Foster Care system.  You know what you don't think about?  The children being used by "good" parents.  The ones with divorced parents, who become bargaining chips.  Chess pieces.  Weapons.  I was very young when my parents divorced.  My father rarely came around, there were no summer trips or alternating holidays.  Honestly, there was little or nothing from him at all.  But, what stays with me to this day, was how my mom treated him.  And how she insisted - and still does - that we treat him with respect.  Not because he deserved it, because God knows he never earned it.  But, because she raised us to be better.  To treat all people with respect.

Now I'm going to step on some toes.  You know who I see pulling this nonsense?  Women!  You very rarely see men doing this.  It's the moms.  And I won't get into the whole "Well, you don't know what he put me through" conversation.  Because, you're right.  I don't know.  And, I pray your kids don't know either.  Because it isn't their burden to carry.  Yes, he may have screwed you over.  And I'd bet money you had one or two times where you got him good, too.  But, your JOB as a parent is to protect your kids.  That means protecting their hearts, too.  Teaching a child that his parent is a bad person will teach that child that he is bad, too.  Because we know that who we are is largely because of who our parents are. We are who we come from.

My heart hurts for these kids.  My heart hurts for these parents.  My heart hurts for the future of our Country, because it will be in the hands of Used Children.  If we are who we come from, does that mean we are raising a generation of users?