Does it take a village to raise at child? I know I raised mine in a loving one.

I find the old saying "it takes a village to raise a child" is so true.  I am not saying that there is this wonderful all perfect little town that you can send your child to and it will be raised.  NO, not in the least. I am saying that we, as people, depend upon all the resources available to us to do the best job we can to raise our children.  I have a friend that is in total disagreement with me she does not think it takes a village to raise a child.  I value her opinion.  I say unless your child was raised in a vacuum how else did you raise your child that a village wasn't involved? 

Did you ever as a parent, receive food stamps, did you use a food pantry, did you use a Church pantry or thrift store? Have you ever received an earned income credit from the government, medicaid, social security, monthly financial assistance, once known as welfare?  Did a church missionaries ever come and weatherize your house, or did lieap or did you get heat assistance from caring people? Did you ever use daycare, have a family member watch your child, have a babysitter come in, were your kids ever in foster care? Do your children have God parents or do you have friends that dote on your kids and spend time with them? Has a neighbor ever invited them to a special function or had them over for the day?  Has your child ever needed a youth home, juvenile probation, a youth group, an after school program, in home pre-school, have they been to the YMCA or another children's program, took swimming lessons?  Has you child been to summer camp, day camp, a foreign exchange program or 4h program?  Do you children spend time with their teachers, coaches or Preachers? Has your child ever been mentored by a Big Brother or Big Sister? and many more progarms and people I can't think of right off hand.  I think if you have used any one of these programs a village had input into your child's life.  I can't think of one person I know that hasn't shared their child with more than one of these village members. I take that back, when I worked at the sheriff's office a child was rescued from his mother and grandfather that had raised him in total isolation, he didn't know how to even wash his own body, had dirt grown into his skin, and had never been around any people, no a village did not raise him but at 12 one saved him.  I know I digressed that was not a normal situation, but I can't think of a normal situation where a village doesn't raise a child.

I am not saying that we should let our children out on the street of a small town and let them be raised by the inhabitants, that would be like throwing them to the wolves, sorry I had too.  They are your children,  you should be the mayor of their lives in their village.  My children are the product of the loving village that I have selected for them.  I did not raise my children in a generic village.  I got to decide who they spent time with, who got to influence them, who shared their lives. So does a village raise a child?  I would think that God made villages of his choosing for the benefit of our children.  Don't be ashamed that you raised your child in a village, they are better well rounded people for their having such a wonderful shared upbringing.  We get to be the family to our children in our chosen village, isn't that a wonderful thing..... tomorrow.