As some of you know I am the father of a beautiful little baby girl named Olivia. She is quite cute, and I do very much enjoy my various daddy-duties such as playing, changing diapers, reading to her, etc. A new aspect of daddy-duty that has come up as of late, is my charge to babysit Olivia while my wife goes out for a little bit.
See I have found that while my wife is home and Olivia is being good I consider myself rather adept at being a dad. For example the other night I found myself handling the situation pretty well as Olivia slept by me on the couch while I watched some ESPN. I know, I know parenting skills at their best. However it's the thought of my wife being gone and Olivia in complete temper-tantrum mode that puts fear in my bones.
Exhibit A. As you can see extremely adept.
This got me to thinking, comparing my feelings of adeptness as a parent with my feelings of being a good Catholic witness. See when I'm surrounded by my good friends and family whom are all mostly Catholic, it's easy to be Catholic and to discuss my faith. My issue is when my faith is truly being challenged (or with Olivia, her throwing a huge temper tantrum while my wife is out), will I be prepared to handle the situation?
I would like to think I'm capable. And of course, as in parenthood, there is always room to grow and become a better parent/Catholic witness.
So I ask, are you the Catholic you want to be all the time? Or just when it's easy to be? If not, work on it with me ... we can help each other out. Isn't that our duty?
Man, what a good post. I struggle with the same issues - mainly at work. How can I be the same Catholic both in and out of the workplace? Most of my non-work friendships are usually determined on the areas I share in common with those around me, faith being a important determining factor in that friendship bond. At work, we are forced to be around people who may not share our religious views or moral fiber. There is that fine line between how we approach "fitting in" and being well-liked among our work peers, and being able to live our Catholic faith on a consistent daily basis. A man that has that aspect mastered is in my opinion, a true man. A position worthy of endless pursuit.
ReplyDeleteHey - it's not your business what other people think about you. So just go on being who you are.
ReplyDeleteMom's struggle with the temper tantrum thing, too. they just know that the buck stops with them. They have no one else to turn to when the baby is crying, so they just suck it up and deal with it. Don't be afraid. She's just a little baby who loves her daddy. Suck it up and deal with it.
You can't serve two masters, bros!
ReplyDelete"There is that fine line between how we approach "fitting in" and being well-liked among our work peers, and being able to live our Catholic faith on a consistent daily basis. A man that has that aspect mastered is in my opinion, a true man. A position worthy of endless pursuit."
Don't pursue it or you won't like where it takes you!
Thanks for the kick in the pants Mother Hen!
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to realize that I need to suck it up and deal with the situation instead of being in "hand-off" mode. Both with the baby and with my faith, just as Brian is saying ... can't have it both ways.
Point taken -
ReplyDeleteObviously, I truly desire to follow Christ and to know, love and serve Him in all that I do is priority #1.
Let me rephrase my statement to say " A true man is one who can realize his goal of following Christ in all situations, regardless of the social consequences".
My previous comment is another example of my shortcomings! Thanks for the kick in the pants man!