In the book Polishing God’s Monuments Jim Andrews tells the story of a plane disaster.

“What made this even a double calamity was the lethal convergence of two factors: bad weather and pilot error. The investigative report of the incident indicated the unfortunate pilot was flying in heavy fog. It went on to explain that when a pilot is flying in those conditions, it is vital that he rely solely on his instruments as opposed to flying “by the seat of his pants.” This is because without a visual point of reference, one’s senses can be easily fooled into thinking the plane is doing the exact opposite.”

As I read this story, I could not help but think of how it relates to parenting our children. Strategic parents are very aware of the climate in their house on a day to day basis. I am not talking about the actual temperature but the emotional climate.

Parents, especially dads, set the tone on how the evening is going to flesh out that night. If you come home angry and frustrated, the climate in your house tends to follow. If you come home excited to see your family, that climate also tends to follow.

This places a huge amount of importance on how a dad acts when he first gets home and how a mother reacts when dad gets home. Don’t let your house be known for bad weather.

The second problem in the story involves pilot error. If we do not have visual point of reference in our home, we are setting our homes up for a crash landing. It is very easy to slip into thinking that all is well because there is no turbulence at the time. We all can fall into that trap.

Instead, strategic parents should always be pointing the family towards the story God, His character, His creation, and His redemption. He alone should be our visual point of reference. Our children need to see that visual point of reference in how we live, love, and serve.

Don’t let bad weather and pilot error crash a perfect opportunity for a great flight. Your children are counting on you to prepare them for their first solo flight. What you do now will greatly affect how that flight turns out. Keep striving to be strategic and intentional!