Kids Wearing Helmets – Everywhere.
“I’m gonna home school my kids. Make ‘em wear helmets everywhere. I’m gonna, you know, um, not gonna let them outside ‘cuz sun has bad rays.” -Francis Chan, Minister. (See video below)
Super Helmet
The theme of helmet wearing comes up from time to time in family discussions. Not because any of us are particularly uncoordinated – though my brother, did get his face cut up in a hockey game thanks to his lack of face visor. The real reason is that we are an older family. To give you an idea my parents just had their 45th wedding anniversary. Yeah, they’re the same age as many of my friends’ grandparents. My brothers are all a minimum of 10 years older than me and I’m 30. They, and to some extent I, grew up in a different time.
Extreme sports used to be the things we did in the gully by our house. Build ramps and ride bikes off of them. Try to catch gophers. Um, try snorkeling in the bow river. (We once found a road sign, but it was very likely visible from above the water.)
We were never particularly safe. But, probably we weren’t particularly dangerous. We were just little boys. My parents weren’t particularly negligent – they just grew up on the farm where you, well, didn’t wear helmets.
And so it comes up in family dinner times when we see the kids in our block wearing helmets, elbow pads, knee pads etc. to take their dog for a walk. It comes up when we drive through a play ground zone and LONG for a reason to slow down. A reason other than the posted limit. That reason, of course, being the presence of kids. But from what we can tell, kids don’t play in the park any more. It’s not safe.
And it’s not just the tires, and swings, and bridges that are dangerous. It’s the people. Yes, people steal and molest children. If it’s not the sickest thing you’ve heard of… the greatest perversion of justice… then you surely have a more colorful imagination than I.
And so what can we do? There is no helmet to protect our little people from big people.
And still we shun the idea that we need God’s help. We persecute those miserable people who talk about Jesus like he could bring peace and hope into our communities. Then we point, with good reason, to the church’s spotty past: Alas, there are some who profess to be Christians who do the same abominable acts to children. (I’m sure other religions, too.)
Who will protect our children? The government? The community? The church? No one? And before long we are much more inclined to keep our kids inside.
I am not opposed to helmets. I am not opposed to safety. I am opposed to retreating from problems and hoping they go away, or at very least hoping they won’t visit our homes.
May we never pray: “Someone else O’ Lord, but not our home.”
But rather: “God what can I do? And, God, Please protect all of the children.”
