I have always tried to teach my children to treat others the way they want to be treated. Many times they treat others the way they wish they had been treated. One important example is in choosing their Confirmation sponsors. They asked their teenaged heroes. Their heroes said no. Their heroes had school, extracurricular activities, after school jobs, sports, and no time to spare. What my boys heard was, "We have no time for you." The people who stepped up for them were amazing. They were insightful and fun. My kids were not neglected. The rejection stayed with them merely in the periphery.
A few years later, a younger friend of theirs asked them if they could co-sponsor him for his Confirmation. Immediately, the memory of the rejection came to mind. We worked out a time in between my boys' school, extracurricular activities, after school jobs, sports, and no time to spare. They couldn't let this friend down. Not after what they had experienced with their friends. Their baby sister's First Communion Mass was the same day and time. We found a work-around. (We moved her special day to a private Mass since she does not do well in crowds.) They did anything and everything they could do to illustrate the honor they felt in being chosen for such an important moment in this young man's life. Congratulations, Beau Stanley!
You do not understand now what I am doing, but later you will understand... I have given you an example. What I have done for you, you should also do. John 13: 7,15
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