The Story of a UM

*UM=Unaccompanied Minor; child flying without an adult.

His name was Isaiah; he was 7 years old. He sat right next to me in the window seat, complete with his spider man backpack and mini carton of goldfish. The poor little man was terrified of flying by himself, and my sister and I tried to reassure him saying that the pilot was very experienced and would make sure we didn't crash. Then out of the blue, Isaiah said just like a little boy would, "But I'm sad." When we asked why, he said it was because he was going to miss his dad. Then he told us he was going to be staying in Portland all summer with some relatives. I didn't blame him, I would be sad too! We never found out why he was going to be away all summer, but he didn't mention missing his mom, so we assumed he lived with only one parent. We asked him how many siblings he had, and what followed made me want to cry: He lived with his dad in Las Vegas, he had two siblings that lived in the Midwest with his mom and then one other that lived with another mom in Florida.

What did this darling little boy do to deserve such a dysfunctional family? Why is it that so many families, even Christian ones, are torn apart so that little kids like Isaiah grow up knowing only one parent, barely seeing any siblings? What has happened to the concept of family commitment in our society?

Could it be because we've lost focus of what should be the center, God and the gospel? Could it be that we have forgotten the purpose of marriage and family in the midst of our shameful self-centeredness? Stories such as this should be labeled as nothing less than a tragedy. Yet sadly, Isaiah's is all too common.

So the question is, what can we do as Christians to help demonstrate how God intended family to operate to a watching world? I'll be the first to admit that we aren't perfect, (just hang out at my house for a few hours and you'll see for yourself!). But praise God, he is more than able to use weak people to make an impact on a culture that knows so little about God's idea of marriage and family and give opportunity to adorn the gospel.

"Although we might not always be aware, people are watching our lives. If we exhibit the qualities... such as love for our families or purity or kindness, we are promoting the gospel, and the unbelievers who see us-- be they family member, friend, neighbor, or strangers-- may actually be drawn to the gospel by the way we live." -Carolyn Mahaney

And when they begin to understand the gospel, family commitment makes a lot more sense. So as Linguini says in Pixar's Ratalouille: "Let's do this thing!"