All the world is Irish, but do any of them associate with the Shamrock?

Shamrock

Oh the beloved March 17th is upon us.  That means it's St. Patrick's Day and everybody and their grandma is Irish.  Even if only for a day.  A little disclaimer here, my grandmother's father was one of three brothers that came here directly from Ireland about 1910.  But everyone associates with the Irish and joins in the festivities.  Eating cabbage, drinking ale, and wearing green.  But how many know the meaning behind the man that is St. Patrick?  And how many know the message that made him famous enough to earn him Sainthood?  Like so many of our holidays in America, we just join in the party and don't pay any mind to the history or the significance of the event.  This man has an incredible story and there is a legitimate reason multiple churches claim him as their patron saint.


Mr. Patrick was born in a Britain that was under Roman rule.  This would be roughly around 400 A.D.  His Father and Grandfather were said to be either deacons or preachers in a "Christian" church.  There weren't as many denominations back then so it is unclear what "Christian" branch it was.  When he was 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and made a slave somewhere on the west coast of Ireland.  While in captivity God gave Patrick a dream of fleeing to the beach and leaving by boat.  The dream came true and he sailed to Gaul.  This is modern day France.  Since God saved him, he studied to be a priest and returned to Ireland to Christianize his Irish captors away from their Celtic polytheism.  Interestingly Celtic polytheism and Roman mythology are parallel, but that's another story.  What set Patrick apart was he used the most common thing in Ireland as his teaching tool.  The common Shamrock was all he needed.  The Shamrock has three leaves and he used it to explain the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.  He spent thirty years walking the emerald isle that once enslaved him using a simple clover to spread the word of God.  He changed a nation and is for every immortalized.  This is why the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, Eastern Orthodox, and Irish Christian Church all claim him as Saint Patrick.


We live in a day and age that it's all about marketing, name recognition, and the wow factor.  Sometimes, the simplest things in life can carry the biggest message.  I find that more often then not that word of mouth is the most effective tool of all.  Friend to friend makes some of the greatest impacts in most people's lives.  And sometimes one man walking for thirty years with a few clovers in his pockets and a simple message in his heart can change a world.  If someone ask you today, "Are you wearing your green?" remember it means "are you wearing your Holy Trinity?".  I hope you wear your green everyday.

Sometimes you just have to let a ship sail and a kid walk on his own.

Anchored in!

We all have a little bit of a perfectionist in us.  We want things to be just so.  If we build things, we want them built just right.  Although I have no desire to build sailboats, I find people that build them fascinating.  There are so many ways and styles to build a sailboat.  And even after you pick and choose and build the actual boat, then there is the sanding and shaping of the hull.  Boat builders take great pride in the way their boat cuts through the water.  Often, spending as much time sanding and shaping the hull as they do actually building the boat.  I read an article about a man that spent twenty six years of his life perfecting his sailboat before taking it out to sea. I mean really, at some point you just got to put her in the water and let her sail.


We as parents do the exact same thing with our kids.  When we first teach them to walk we often hold own to their little hand longer than we need to.  Yes they are going to reach for our hand.  It's always the easy way out.  But sometimes the easy way is not the best way.  The truth is, this is the first big test of trust.  Not trust of the child.  Trust of your own parenting skills.  Sooner or later, you just have to trust that you've taught them what they need to know and they will be able to navigate the skills of walking without you holding their little hand anymore.  Then a few short years later, you find yourself running behind a bicycle.  You're bent over with your hand under the seat because you've taken the training wheels off in an effort to boost your child's self esteem.  You can feel it in your hand that your kid is ready to take off on his own but your just not quite ready to let go.  It's a matter of belief in the lessons that you have taught.  It's an exercise  in self doubt. You can repeat yourself over and over but sooner or later, you just have to let your little one ride on without your hand.  But with the confidence of all your knowledge safely instilled in him.

The end of Parenting.

It's no different when we get to the end of our kid's childhood.  You've done your job.  You've warned against the dangerous things.  You've given the driving lessons.  Discussed uncomfortable subjects such as drinking, drugs, sex, and bad company.  You have had your had at the steering wheel for eighteen years, all throughout school, relationships, sports clubs, and every aspect of their lives.  You've instilled all that is in you into them. It's a massive leap of faith to just let that kid sail off into the waters.  But here's the beautiful part.  That kid was shaped to cut through the water by your hand.  As long as your hand was active in shaping that kid, I can assure you, he will perform the way your hand molded him to perform.  It's hard to give up your creation to the world, but you will be overwhelmed with pride when that creation performs better than your design had intended it to.

Happy Sailing My Friends.