All good parents want what is best for their children and do
what they think is in their child’s best interest. The ultimate example of this
being our Heavenly Father. He gives us commandments to help us learn, grow, and
become like Him so that we can return to live with Him after this life. Many people
struggle with His commandments because they may seem restrictive, or hard, but
in the end our Heavenly Father knows us best, and those commandments were given
out of love to protect us from unnecessary harm.
There are many
other examples of parents who make sacrifices to have their children’s lives be
the best that they can be. An example from the scriptures is Lehi leading his
family into the wilderness to get to the promised land. Lehi was leading his
family away from destruction because he knew that the promised land would keep
them safe so that his family could prosper. In our day, many parents are trying
to lead their family to another land to give their children better
opportunities. They are trying to lead their families to a new location so that
they can receive a better education, climb the social ladder, and just have a better
life in general. But how can these challenges affect the family as a whole? What
challenges does that family face as they leave what they know to go to another
area, or even another country?
There are
many families in today’s world that are trying to leave their countries and
come to the United States, but what they may not plan for is all the changes their
family will go through in the process. When Lehi’s family left Jerusalem, his
family, specifically his children, had a very hard time. Laman and Lemuel had a
very hard time adjusting from living in a home with an inheritance, to a tent
in the wilderness with nothing to their name. Just like Lehi’s family, many who
try and make the journey to a better life in America, often have to leave everything
that they have behind. Many of the fathers had good paying jobs where they
could provide for their families. The mothers were able to stay home and
provide love and support to their husband and children. What they don’t
realize, is that in making the change for their children to be ahead in life,
many of the family roles change.
There are so many families in
Mexico that decide they are going to make the journey to America. They want
their kids to be able to get an education and learn English so that they can
return to Mexico and be able to receive much higher paying jobs due to being bilingual.
They take the journey for a better life, but in most cases the whole family doesn’t
all come at the same time. Many fathers leave first to set things up for their
families but find themselves in very low paying jobs. While trying to earn the
money to bring their family to where they are, the family structure itself is
already changing. First of all, the father isn’t a part of their lives as much as
they used to be, and with the father not making very much money, the mother
turns to working as well. Where does this leave the kids? The relationships they
once had with their families start to deteriorate. They aren’t able to have those
strong family ties because neither the father nor the mother is in the home to
help strengthen and encourage them.
Once the father has finally earned enough
money to bring his family to where he is, it has often been many years. The children
in these families go through so much. When they are able to be reunited, they
have to rebuild family ties and learn how to adjust to a new culture. They miss
their friends and family back home and now struggle with school because it is
in a language they don’t understand. In this new culture they have to learn how
people expect them to act, and during all of this, try and make new friends. In
addition, they still don’t have a family to go back to, because both of their parents
are out of the home working to provide for their family.
With all of these costs it almost
seems too high to be worth it. But just like Lehi, they often do this because
they feel it is best for their family. In the end, their children often do get
a better education, higher paying jobs, and are able to move up in the world to
be able to have a better life. To these parents, their sacrifice of leaving
what they know behind is totally worth it!
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