#19 – A Letter from Paul Harvey – July 4, 2024

3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

In 2015 I wrote an article that included Paul Harvey’s wonderful depiction of “If I were the Devil”.  I have always been a fan of Mr. Harvey due to the fact that he was open and truthful in his writings and statements. 

I recently came across the following and, even though many of you may have read it before, I simply can’t remember every seeing it.  For those of us who have children and grandchildren, it takes you back to your childhood and throws you into the present.

Please let his words sink into your mind and soul with the love and care his words expressed for those he dearly loved.

Paul Harvey’s Letter to His Grandchildren:

“We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I’d like better. I’d really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated. I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car. And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep. I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you’ll let him/her.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it’s all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he/she wants to crawl under the covers with you because he/she’s scared, I hope you let him/her.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don’t ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won’t be seen riding with someone as un-cool as your mom.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books. When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy/girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

I hope you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole. I don’t care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don’t like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he/she is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandma/grandpa and go fishing with your uncle. I hope you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor’s window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Hanukkah/Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you – tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it’s the only way to appreciate life.

Written with a pen. Sealed with a kiss. I’m here for you. And if I die before you do, I’ll go to heaven and wait for you.”

Mr. Harvey was a smart man that could see the destruction coming our way.  He could see what society was doing to our children.  He could see the “spoilage” in our youth. 

There is a time in our lives when we, as adults, must wake up and recognize the difference of abuse and discipline.  I believe that up until our children are 18, or until they move out of the house, you can be a friend to them but you must also be the “parent” and disciplinarian.  After that…you remain their parent forever, but now you become their “best friend”.  They just won’t realize it right away. 

Be patient.  They will.

Teach them about Jesus, take them to church (even if they throw a fit), and make them memorize Bible verses that they can reflect on in the years ahead when advice is needed, and you’re no longer around. Give them a job to do, not for the money, but for the gratification of doing something to help others and putting a proud feeling down in their gut.  Let them find out what care and compassion for others feels like.

Our children are our future.  Look around.  Are they ready to face the future?  If not…talk to Jesus and tell him your concern.  He will listen.  And He, and you, might come up with a solution that will surprise you. 

I pray that my children and grandchildren come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior before I die.  But…if it’s after I die, that’s okay…just as long as it happens.

May God bless you, your children, your grandchildren, and all those you love.

Nancy Stoppe                   

Stoppe123@comcast.net

Blog – inspirationalinsights6.com  (inspirational insights 6 .com)