Sometime back in the 80's, when my boys were of school age and their friends used to come around, I found myself on the other end of a frantic phone call from the mother of one of those friends, a girl that was not trusted by her controlling parents and kept running away. In fact, I had been aware that those parents had been parked in their car watching our house, thinking it was some kind of drug den. I should preface that not one was allowed to stay without parental permission. When they couldn't discover why their daughter was attracted to our house, the mother called to talk to me and find out what I was up to.
At one point in our "conversation" I found that she did not understand the concept of respecting one's children, at which time I finally told her straight out that her daughter, indeed all of our children, had lived many lives before, and had some foundation for self-judgment and common sense, and that she deserved some respect and trust. That's when the mother became truly frantic, thinking that her daughter was being influenced by the devil. It was not long before our reputation was smeared all over town. But, the kids knew the truth, and we managed to get through it all. We did eventually have to move to another town, then another. And the physical effect of moving took its toll on my wife and I.
But, I never regretted saying what I did to that mother. It was all that could have been said under the circumstances. She wouldn't even believe me when I told her how bright and mature her daughter was. Since that time, some of those kids have died or been murdered; while others have grown to be confident and successful adults and good parents. And, they still remember us with fond memories and great respect. It's a gift worth more than money and material success.
