Published On:Thursday, March 18, 2010

BY ANGELA PALACIOUS

IN ORDER for us to progress as a people, we need to have an equal opportunity to succeed and prosper in every sphere of society. By the grace of God, it is no longer debated for girls and boys to have equal opportunities to obtain a quality education. We are all proud of every advance in our educational system and we want all students to study hard and excel.

Similarly, when they have achieved equivalent academic standards, we want them both to enjoy the benefits of good jobs with equal pay for equal work. We want to attract persons of both sexes to professions such as teaching and nursing and others where a better balance is preferred, even as we desire all doors to be wide open for women, gifted in traditional male occupations, to have the opportunity to enter and excel in them. I continue to thank God for the privilege of serving the church as an Anglican priest which was unheard of when I was a child.

There is much work to be done in every area of our nation and it is high time we all put our shoulders to the wheel to accomplish the task of nation building. Our country needs the best doing their best in the best interest of us all. God would not call and equip women if we did not have a meaningful role to play.

As citizens of this great nation, we must place even greater emphasis on providing our citizens with the equal opportunity to raise a godly family, as life is not only about work. During my time as a hospital chaplain in training in New Jersey, no patient ever said that he should have worked more hours, but several bemoaned the fact that they had not devoted sufficient time to their families.

It remains God's plan for two married persons to work together in the home to nurture and guide children. We need to aim for this as our goal and ideal in each generation. Children have the right to two loving parents, but when circumstances are otherwise, then, we have to pray for double wisdom for the single parent and loving support from elsewhere.

It will lessen our stress when we plan our family size. We need time and energy to supervise children well in this day and time. It is harder to let them play out of our sight, to allow them to roam freely even on the Family Islands. We have to aim for a better balance in our day.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Where do I go from here?

2. Is it my desire to love my family and

regulate my own behavior?

3. Am I willing to seek justice and fair

treatment in all avenues of society?

4. Do I regularly work hard, rest, play

and pray?

Let us speak our truth in love, dreaming and labouring together for a better and brighter day.

We want to secure a firmer foundation for this nation, which is our gift from God, to pass on to the next generation.