Have you ever ridden in a helicopter? One of my bucket list items for sure. HOPEFULLY NOT A MEDIVAC, but a plain helicopter. Looks like fun!!! However, sometimes not so much …
I grew up the son of two hard-working people. Being the only son of three children, I kind of naturally migrated to help my dad… He was a commercial HVAC master. In that, he learned and taught me about HVAC, electrical work, plumbing, gas, and a ton of other things. My dad would adapt and overcome. If there was something he did not know about, he would learn it. When there was a problem there was always a solution of some sort. He taught me to keep working and work hard. When I went into IT work, the electrical part of that training served me well and I continued to grow in that area.
Fast-forward to a few years ago: I was talking to a good friend who is an electrician and was wondering what it takes to earn an electrician’s license in South Carolina. He reminded me that, of course, there is an amount of practical engineering knowledge that you would have to learn and demonstrate. And then a period of apprenticeship, which I believe was 2000 hours of working with a licensed electrician.
WHY? Surely if you know the book knowledge, you could do that job? RIGHT?? Well, you can have all of the knowledge in the world, but if you don’t know how to apply it, what good is it? Can you REALLY do the job? (Also, there are things about that job and every job that a book cannot sufficiently prepare you for …)
I first heard the term “helicopter parenting” a couple of decades ago. In a nutshell, a helicopter parent hovers over their children and can, at times, micromanage their lives. This becomes a problem when it comes time for children to live as adults and are unable to “adult.” They are unable to handle their own life business because they never had to learn how. They never were able to apprentice.
As a pastor, I now see the cycle of “helicopter children” becoming “helicopter parents” and some are struggling because they don’t even know how to relate to people and get things done on their own, let alone for their children. That struggle is REAL! Just ask some of my teacher friends.
What can be done? Parents, BREAK THE CYCLE. It is never too late to teach. Grandparents, COME ALONGSIDE AND HELP ALL THAT YOU CAN. And remind them that you won’t always be there to help. Teach them how to SURVIVE and THRIVE!!!
Remember … This is just my opinion. Just something I see almost every day. And if I can help, call the church!! I’ll try to help as much as I can!!!
One Pastor's Perspective 
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