Contacts are people we are constantly in touch with. Today, in our world, we view contacts as the lists of individuals we are accessible to through GSM and other fiber optic wires. This is done, as we all know, through phone calls, video calls, emails, and faxes.

The first and most important contacts in anybody’s life are their parents. Your mother carried you in her stomach, after nine months, she welcomed you into this world and attempted to quiet your harsh screams from the shocks and pangs of your surroundings. Before you were born you had been in contact with your mother in her womb until you were birthed.

The day you were born is the day you made your most important contact. That’s why we celebrate our birthdays; to remember our contact (our parents) – the bridge between us and the earth. Your parents are the bridge between you and the earth because they stand in the gap to provide you warmth, love and support. They fed you, bathed you and protected you in the volatile stages of your life. This contact with your parents can be made anywhere, at any destined period in time.

Jesus was born in a barn.There are thousands of people who were born in bushes, million of others are born along the highways, toilets etc. nowadays. Where you are born does not matter, but how your parents take care of you does.

The presence of a father can create a caring bond between the father and his child; both of them co-exist in it. Of course, every young child needs the warmth of both parents. You grow up knowing that you’re loved. Their voices become familiar to you, you feel fascinated to talk, their attitude becomes your way of life and their presence lets you know that you are not alone.

Parents should constantly stay in contact with their children when they are still young. Parents stay in contact with children: to ensure their welfare, to monitor and discipline them and to monitor development and progress in their life.

Children on the other hand, when mature and independent, should stay in contact their parents constantly to: ensure their welfare in old age, to maintain the family tradition. e.g. seeking advice, family reunion etc. also to keep them abreast of the progress and development they are making in their community and the world.

It is a sad thing to grow up without parents or with a single parent. Those within this category easily develop a pattern that could lead to failure. Some mothers take to help them accept the possibility of raising their children on their own. However, this sometimes leads to them bearing a child that may be posthumous. Other mothers throw their babies away or leave them on the streets.

A lady I once spoke to told me that her mother abandoned her in the hospital. She said after she learned of her own story, she used to abort every seed she conceived. The numerous actions then caused her to be unable to bear any children. She told me her biggest regret was that today she can’t have a child of her own as a married woman.

A young man whom I also once spoke to told me that he had been brought up by a single grandmother. The tough life of struggle was why he became a thief, a liar, drug-user, prisoner, high school dropout and a beggar. Why? Is it because his parents were not around? Of course, yes! Although, the opposite of the above scenario can also be true of others with both parents around.

The emphasis here is the importance of parental contact. It builds a tradition, assures development and progress in any individual’s life and instills a high level of discipline which reflects on their character. If your parents fail you, you need to stay in touch with people who are also capable of parenting you. That’s why many people become religious. Many Christians for instance, make their pastors and their wives their parents in the absence of their real parents. Others choose their mentors or role models as their parents.

It’s not only your mother and father who can be your parents. Some people may influence your life without physical contact yet; the need to make contact cannot be erased. Many authors have served as parents to so many people in the world without physical contact. Others have parents who did not influence them at all, but they made it through external people who offered their shoulders so they can be raised high. So in everything, keep good contacts in your life.

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Tell us: Who are your close contacts and why do you keep them close?