Of Talks and Seminars

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I attended 3 talks in the span of 1 week – an amazing feat for someone who is used to staying home most of the time to keep on top of what she needs to do! 😀 And yes, they all had to do with parenting in one form or another.

Have you ever sat at a meeting or a seminar or conference and find yourself nodding passionately with the speaker ? Well, I didn’t at one of the talks I attended 🙁

So I began to ask myself why I was so disturbed by the speaker.

One was that all the stories he told were about himself and his family! Sure, speakers share personal anecdotes to connect with the audience. That, I understand. But when all the stories are only personal stories, it made me go, “hmmm……….” And this is from someone who has been doing this for 30 years. Hmm…..

But what really made me raise my eyebrows was when he dished out advice seemingly based only from his personal experience. Advice that a younger and more naïve parent may take as the truth. To speak with such authority based on personal experiences only is scary. Just because it worked for you does not mean it will work for everyone. One can share but to say, “You should do x, y, z because I did it and it worked” is rather presumptuous. What about seeking God in the matter? Maybe his method had successes but he didn’t mention any.

And in all his sharing, I kept asking – and where was God in the story??? Everything was done and decided because he thought of it. There was no mention of any discussion between husband and wife or between God and himself.

The last straw on the proverbial camel’s back came when he said that parents should not teach their children. To just leave the teaching to the schools. Sorry but where has this person been??? I promise I am not upset because I am a homeschooler and he’s saying very clearly that I am not qualified to teach my brood 😀 But c’mon! Moms everywhere are complaining that the teachers are no longer teaching, expecting their students to get tuition or mom to fill in the gaps. I think he has his head up in the clouds!

Anyway, my point in writing this is to remind all of us to be discerning when listening to advice from the “experts“. Many times we attend seminars and talks because we just want a formula that will guarantee success. Sure, it is easier to just follow an expert’s method but it could easily be a rabbit trail and not the solution we need. Instead, we should be seeking the Lord’s solution. But let’s be honest here, most of us are likely to not do coz it takes more time and effort. But you see, even when the method may be correct, you will still need to seek the Lord in applying it to your particular situation. Too tiring? Difficult? Yep. And that is probably why talks that teach a method will sell out faster than talks that teach seeking the Lord or practising spiritual disciplines 😛

So let us all be discerning when we sign up for seminars and conferences, eh? 😀

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