Behind Closed Doors

Source

You never really know what is going on in the lives of people, behind closed doors.  I want to introduce you to a few people, just to prove my point.  You may like some, you may not like others, but I think you will understand my point.  Yes, I know these people.  Yes, some of the facts have been changed to protect the innocent people involved. 

Meet David:

He is a youth minister at church.  He can quote scripture chapter and verse.  He was raised in a God fearing home and loves Jesus. He is the perfect dotting dad to his little girl.  He has the typical divorced dad guilt.  On the outside David is the most together person you have ever met. He is talented, funny, smart.    Inside, David is falling apart.  David is afraid, angry, and broken.  David feels worthless and randomly rages against anyone or anything that makes him unhappy and everything makes David unhappy.  David thinks the whole world is against him, even God.  David goes through serious stages of depression.  When he is in love, he falls for the wrong person.  He picks based on the stuff that doesn't really matter, the superficial because being with someone beautiful makes him feel better about himself.  When the relationship ultimately ends up where all relationships end up when you are basing it on something that isn't concrete, he spins out of control, rage, depression, anger.  The cycle continues.   Only his close friends know.  On the outside he is the happy, church going, loving dad.  On the inside he is unhappy, sad, and wishes he were dead or better yet, never born.

Meet Jessica:

Jessica is a middle aged mother.  She is your typical soccer mom.  She is divorced and dating.  She goes to all of her kids sporting events.  Jessica has all the team t-shirts and she cheers the loudest at the games.  She runs the kids to and from practices whenever she can.  She takes them shopping and spends her time on Facebook posting all the great "mommy and me" photos.  She is always the first to volunteer for the kids school functions.  She is a part time student and runs her own business.  Everyone thinks Jess is mother of the year.   She is great, happy, funny, and lively.  Behind closed doors, Jess has a little problem.  She likes nice things and she can't always afford them so sometimes, she takes them.  She takes them a lot actually. The list of things that she has done to keep up with the Joneses is long, shameful, and pathetic. She belongs in jail.  She doesn't think about what is going to happen one day when her kids find out that she has been arrested several times for shop lifting. She doesn't remember that there are public records of her misdeeds.   She forgets that memories are long and google pulls up her mug shots.  She uses her kids to get to her ex-husband and his wife.  She manipulates them into thinking other people are bad when those people only have the best intentions for the kids. She doesn't consider the fact that she is going to destroy her children with her lies which eventually will catch up with her.  Her kids aren't always going to be little and naive and think "mommy hung the moon".   Eventually, they will catch on to her, just like everyone else.  

Meet Sam: 

Sam is a busy business owner.  He is on the go!  Sam spends all his time on the golf course trying to grow his business.  Except that isn't really what he is doing.  He is playing golf.  Sam also spends a lot of time with his young, cute girlfriend.  The one he left his wife of 25 years to be with.  Sam is hip.  He is fun.  He is in to all the cool things.  Sam isn't an old fuddy duddy.  No, not Sam.  He hasn't forgotten how to have fun. He isn't having a mid-life crisis he is just showing the world how to stay young!  Behind closed doors however, what he has forgotten is that he has two kids who need him.  He has forgotten that his two kids feel abandoned by him.  Sam's ex-wife, the one he thinks is a nag and a pest, just wants him to be present in his kids life once in a while. Sam however, is so wrapped up in his life that he can't see how he is hurting his children.  That's okay though because Sam is having the time of his life and in 15 years when his kids don't want to be part of their dad's life, Sam will regret not spending a couple weekends a month getting to know his kids.  That is, if anyone knows where Sam is.  

source

Sadly, all of these stories have one thing in common, kids.  Hopefully the kids involved will be able to get past the issues of their parents but I posted this for a couple of reasons.  First, was to show you never know what is really going on with people and what you see on the outside may not be what you get.  Second, I know that the kids involved in some of these stories have already suffered because of their parents issues.  If you know kids with messed up parents, be kind to the kids.  They didn't create the problems.  They are victims too.