I have found the recent lead up to American Presidential elections quite fascinating—in fact this year I was more focused on the elections than the Melbourne Cup!  I did not even watch the race live this year. Mind you I was in class, teaching a Year 8 Philosophy and Religious Studies class at the time of the race, and this mean teacher would not allow the boys to watch the live feed. I was sure it would have invited mayhem and chaos in a class that needed to be focused on the forthcoming exam.

Back to the US elections—a fascinating race to the line with Cyclone Sandy appearing to have a major role in Obama’s win. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I felt that both candidates had positives and negatives both in terms of their characters and their policies. I was very impressed however by Mitt Romney’s concession speech following the outcome of the voting. He was congratulatory to Obama and positive about the potential partnership between the two parties for the common good of the nation. One thing stood out for me in what he said—it was his brief comment declaring that the future health of their nation depended upon what happened in the homes of America in the coming years. His words were, “we look to our parents, for in the final analysis everything depends on the success of our homes.”

There is a Psalm in the Bible that often strikes a chord with me, alluding to how important the family and home is to the future of any nation or society:

“Unless the LORD builds the House its builders labour in vain…children are a heritage from the LORD” (Psalm 127)

The “building of the house” can be seen as a metaphor for our homes and our families. And of course the “building” has to do with our role of parenting. We are also reminded that the key dimensions of parenting can never be diverted to schools or day-care centres. Our children need loving and available parents. At the end of the day it is the investment we make in time, love and relationship with our kids that will be decisive in how they learn and develop and go on to contribute to society and the world.

In my thirty years of working with young people, a crucial theme has been the pervasive power of the home, and the love and stability given to our students by parents and grand-parents (we must never minimise the influence of grandparents). On one thing, at least, Mitt Romney is right—our future as a nation will depend on what happens in our homes, far more than, dare I say  it, our schools or our TAFEs or our Universities.

The Psalmist would also encourage us also to embrace the blessing of God’s loving presence in our lives and those of our family—commit not just our own futures to God but our own families as well, and all that goes on within our homes.

David N Williams
Chaplain