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All of us live within varying types of social circles. These shape our views and our actions more than we realize. While some of these circles are of our choosing, others are not. I have been richly blessed by those in my professional circle. It was a divine connection when I ended up serving on the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Board a few years back. The director of this fantastic organization helped me grow in my understanding of the Bluebonnet Family, and increase my awareness of the unique needs in our area.
There was another board member whose impact on me will forever be treasured. She was a police officer who handled all cases of child abuse and registered sex offenders. Both of these women were extremely brave. They were committed to bringing light into the darkness. I was timid at times to serve alongside of them. Some of the situations were so devoid of hope. When a red flag would appear with a child or family, the three of us would pick up the phone and network until a resolution was found.This was a powerful social circle, and I feel the development of Bluebonnet children was enhanced through some of the action steps we took.
Throughout many fields of study, the holistic development of a child has been under the microscope. These differing fields offer us supplemental hope. One example is the theory of Russian-American psychologist, Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems. From this structure of the environments, it is made clear why “he views the person as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment”. From a child’s microsystem, to mesosystem, to exosystem, and all the way out to the macrosystem (which one might want to avoid during election seasons), all of these “rings of relationships” play a HUGE role in the child’s overall development. , The poor soil of a Bluebonnet Child’s mesosystem does not have the final say in how they will develop as an adult; other rings can affect the child’s EQ, IQ, habits, problem solving techniques, worldviews and religious views.
For example, a local church could easily be placed within the mesosystem of the child on this chart. Feelin’ the pressure yet? I do. And this pressure is good for the local church. It’s good to carry that responsibility. It’s good to not only believe that what we do matters but more importantly to actually do something that matters in the life of a child.
Stay tuned for how the social sciences offer us supplemental hope! Be sure to subscribe to the right. 😁
Can’t wait that long? Own The Bluebonnet Child eBook now!
✌Meg
1 http://goo.gl/mEs3pN