Weekend With the Kids leads to other thoughts

Heather went to a womens conference and had a good time. That means I had the kids by myself for Friday and most of the day Saturday. We had a good time together. I took them to the Wet Zone a local water park for a bit on Saturday. My plan was to wear them out. It worked because Keegan took a three hour nap afterwards.

I will say it made me a little nervous to have them both there without a helping hand. Addy is doing so much better in the water but is still fairly timid. Keegan does not have enough fear of the water. He just walks under huge fountains, puts his face in, and comes up gagging. I am on edge whenever he is around water.

I soaked both kids with sunscreen before we got to the water park. I knew there was no way I could corral Keegan once we got there. Neither appears to be sunburnt and that is a good thing.

While I was struggling to keep up with both kids I was reminded how many times I have looked around our town and wondered where all the poor, hurting, & marginalized people are hiding. This weekend I had a bit of a wakeup call. I wondered how many single parents we have in our community that struggle to do the day to day tasks because they are without a "community" to support them.

How does a mom with two toddlers mow the yard, get a haircut, keep the house clean, get the groceries, take kids to the pool, or deal with a car being in the shop. I wondered how many single parents we have in our community that feel like they are being crushed under the weight of raising kids alone. I wonder how many single parents would love to have a few hours to themselves or to share a meal with other adults with no kids present?

I wonder what role Catalyst can play in these people's lives. Is it possible that we could create a community that comes alongside single parents to help them raise their kids? Are we up to something like that? Is this God speaking or just a crazy thought from a Dad that is used to having plenty of help with his little kids?

I have struggled to see the less fortunate in our town, because there are so many nice houses and cars around. Perhaps my eyes have been opened to a segment of people that have a "need" in our community.