Life According to Fred Rogers

In light of recent events, I often wonder what Mr. Fred Rogers would want to tell the children of the world today.  

For those of you who were fortunate enough to grow up with Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, you may recall his calming, comforting and encouraging ways in which he addressed certain feelings, situations or current events.  It was ok to have feelings of anger, frustration or sadness, but choosing to turn those feelings into hurtful or harmful outlets was not appropriate.   He, as we all should, wanted children to be able to express themselves and their feelings in a healthy way that would not hurt them or anyone else.  He had this amazing way of looking into the television camera and making you feel as though you were the only one in the room at that time and whatever feelings you had, were important to him.  To Mr. Rogers you mattered!

When Mr. Rogers was a little boy and  would see scary things in the news, his mother would say to him, “Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.”  To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” we can all find comfort in his mother’s words realizing that there are still so many helpers, so many caring people in this world.  

You don’t have to wait for a disaster to hit before helping others, each day offers opportunities to be of help.  Caring for others sets a great example for your children to learn that serving others is an extension of your faith in action.  

There are endless ways for us to care for God’s people.  Take some time to teach your children that caring for others not only fulfills God’s word but helps us to be better people as we take the focus of attention away from ourselves and place it on those in need.  

Zechariah 7:9-10 says, “This is what the Lord Almighty says:  Administer true justice, show mercy and compassion to one another.  Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the aliens or the poor.  In your hearts do not think evil of each other.”  

Mr. Rogers said that, “I hope you will feel good enough about yourselves that you will want to minister to others, and that you will find your own unique ways to do that.  You don’t ever have to do anything sensational for people to love you.  . . .life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch.  There is a deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot service: love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”  

The most important thing we can do is to teach our children to be caring and compassionate, showing mercy and grace  to all God’s people.