The blame for the girl wielding a knife attempting to kill another girl doesn’t begin with the officer taking her life. It started long before she ended up in a foster home full of defiance, anger, and a disregard for life. For her, it began at home.

Long, long before God created the church or established Israel as a nation, before cities, God established the family as the basic unit of society. Parenting is one of the most demanding and most rewarding jobs ever. It is where we teach the love of self and others. It begins at home.

No parent is perfect, and even when you think you’re doing your best, things still go wrong. Missing subtle signs of depression, bullying at school, a child’s desire to be liked, willingness to sacrifice their (or your) values to succeed but then realized it costs them their soul. Parental conversation, church, counselors were still no help. It’s still the parent’s responsibility. It was mine.

Today we live in a world that flaunts Christian values as outdated, ridiculous, and even judgmental of others. The plumb line of Truth for the world has moved gradually in the seventies to drastically today. Raising a child amid that change can leave one blinded. Hind-sight has that glorious 20-20 vision.

Moving away from God’s design for the family, away from the families’ umbrella of protection, using the world’s plumb line for truth is the path to brokenness. There are many ways that brokenness enters our life and will whether or not we’re Christian. Healing comes by trusting God to mend our brokenness.