Fancy meeting you here!

I took a trip down to SA a while back by road and bumped into an old friend on the coach. Well not really an old friend, but I taught his son when I was still a teacher at Eaglesvale (yes I was actually an assistant teacher at one point in time). So we had plenty of time to chat and we discussed nearly everything under the sun. Then we got a bit personal and started talking about the number of marriages that have broken down as a result of lack of finances and that led him to tell about how his own marriage had gone through the same process. He was a “change money” during the time when Zim was going through the crazy economic saga! He actually left formal employment to do that full time and made lots of money during that time, bought fancy cars, and the works. What he overlooked was the fact that this was temporary and did not plan ahead for a rainy day. So his family was now used to a certain quality of life and reducing standards was not an option. Some would argue that a change in financial status should not affect anything, but I am not sure if the quality of marriages these days can sustain such difficulties. He understood what effect a change in income would do on himself and his family. So when things hit the fan and the US dollar was introduced, he hit rock bottom, as expected. He tried going back to formal employment but there was no room for such. It was a crazy time. He was honest with his spouse and told her the status quo and his plans to alleviate the family from this predicament, and through her love for him she held on. It was this faith that his wife had in him that gave him the determination to make sure that he would put bread on the table that kept him going and eventually he did, he started car sales and has been doing pretty well with that. What I liked about this ordeal is how honest he was with his spouse, and even though he had no cent, he had a plan and that’s what every man should have, whether or not he has a family. As women, we have so many systems that groom us for the household and how to be “good wives” like the dreaded kitchen parties and all, but there is not much that is there for men. There is the assumption that the man will know what to do. My mum mentioned the other day that there is this sudden generation of men that don’t have proper knowledge on how to manage their lives, how to plan for the family, and how to manage finances and as a result cannot take up the role as the head of the family. Without a good leader, a team, no matter how good the team members may be redundant. I just pray for a new generation of Godly men that plan accordingly for their families, thus allowing the family members to flourish without hesitation.