From an interview with Sally Morganthaler

One small barking dog interviews Sally Morganthaler. Here are some excerpts:

A few years ago, I realized (to my horror) that I had lived a huge percentage of my life rotating between three futile perspectives: regretting the past, surviving the present, or worrying about the future. A change was in order. Now, I try to focus on each moment that is given to me, as it is offered. I ask, "What does this moment require of me?" Or, "What is God trying to communicate to me?" This wholehearted investment in life - this grabbing hold of the wonder in my path, whether it be intense challenge, recreation, uncertainty, a neighbor's frantic call in the night, difficult relatives, a stranger in the airport, or extended isolation - this is medicine to my soul and a rooting in God's good plan. It is, for one known as skeptic and practiced rebel, a place of delightful submission to God's sovereignty. And, I must say, a surprising and welcome turn.

I'm not generally one for despair. But I do have concerns. My own generation of Americans (baby boomers) suffers from a particularly virile form of narcissism. In our quest for personal fulfillment, we have failed to both teach and know our children well. Truly, our deprioritization of our own offspring is one of the great tragedies of late twentieth century America. The effects are staggering, and I'm not just talking about broken homes. It goes much deeper than that. The cessation of intergenerational narrative is at the core. The exchange of story has been one of the most important roles of family life. But getting involved in that exchange means sacrificing time, listening, and value that our children are actually worth the effort. A few days ago, I was at a Christian conference and had just ended a talk about creating sacred space outside the four walls of our churches. I didn't focus the talk on young people, but one father came up to me afterward and plied me with questions about what kind of music he should let his kids listen to, what kind of media, films, TV programs, etc. I was comforted that he was evidently having an epiphany moment that he might need to be involved in these sort of things, but the attitude was still trying to protect them from their own culture, their own stories. It's amazing how rarely I hear parent's ask how they can dialog and actually share life with their children, how they can enter their offspring's worlds, find out the stories their children are actually living, and earn the right to tell their own stories. We are truly in relationally challenged as a nation.

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