Monday, June 8, 2009

THE GREAT PROVIDER







It’s month of June once again. The opening of classes marks another school year for students and people in the academe. If you are one of the million parents who find ways and means to be able to send your children to school despite of tight budget, school opening is indeed a great challenge for you in carrying out your responsibility as provider for the needs of your children. For the students, it means a significant step towards securing a bright future for themselves and their families in pursuit of a more successful life. For parents, educators and other learning institutions, the month of June is but an important stage in the cycle of human endeavour and man’s ultimate desire for fulfilment, happiness and success.

I am one of the many concerned parents who find great significance in the challenge of school opening. Six years ago, I experienced the unforgettable feelings of mixed excitement and nervousness about my daughter’s first few days in school. Watching my daughter (Sophia) inside the classroom with her innocent and apprehensive face as she interacts with the real world for the first time was quite exhilarating.

I am re-living that experience again this school year as my second daughter (Alexa) formally enters the pre-elementary school. Unlike Sophia, Alexa seems to be more psyched up mentally and emotionally as she prepares to join a new circle of friends and classmates. It may not be as exciting as the first time, but the delightful feeling of seeing another kid grow and become more independent is pretty much fulfilling.

Being able to send my kids to a class “A” school and the significant experience that goes with the process is quite a learning encounter for me. More than my role as a lone bread winner parent, my sense of fulfilment stems from the fact that I am able to do what I am suppose to do, overcome difficult challenges of life and serve the desires of my heart. What gives me real sense of fulfilment is the hope and belief that I can make things happen for my children as long as I want them and work on them. The things my family and I are enjoying at the moment most specially our financial readiness to provide for every important thing we need, are the results of right decisions we made conscientiously in the past coupled with productive actions we did consistently over time.

Since the future of our children depends on us parents, it pays for us to be more success conscious as we take seriously our role as providers. Being success conscious means getting ready for every opportunity that will come our way so that we will be the first to grab it when it comes. The saying “Success happens when opportunity and preparedness meet”, aptly captures its essence.


What practical application can we possibly get from this success idea? A housewife, for example, instead of being contented just being at home taking care of the kids, should now entertain thoughts and ideas on how she can earn something during her spare time. She can choose from ample opportunities like joining direct selling business, network marketing, selling real estate and insurance or pursue any entrepreneurial undertaking that can help provide extra income for the family. For the struggling full-time employee who tries his best to make both ends meet for himself and his family, he should now look for other means to maximise his income potential.

The best way to start is to increase one’s awareness by learning something new and by applying it. Anyone can start where he stands regardless of his present status in life. All it takes is a strong determination and red hot willingness to fulfil what the heart desires. For as long as there is belief, there is no limit to what one can create. There is no limit to what one can do.

The lifestyle of our children and the kind of life they will live in the future is very much determined by our efforts today. We should be able to give them the best future they truly deserve. This is the best motivation we can have and live with as parents. At the end, this will measure how great we lived our lives and fulfilled our mission as providers. And this duty we owe to the great Provider, who, like us will never forsake his children on earth. We are just mere instruments of Our Father. We can never afford to fail Him.


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