A Change in Focus

-

In reading a friend's blog post the other day, I was challenged to change the way I think about my children. I believe all children have perceived weaknesses or character traits that tend to annoy their parents. For me, it is easy to dwell on these. I find myself doing so on a regular basis. I was challenged to think of them not as weaknesses or problems, but rather as something that God gave to each girl that He wants to use for His glory. So, here is my attempt at categorizing that for my girls and changing my focus.

I have one child who is fearful and sensitive. The slightest thing can set her into tears, often to my surprise because I do not think it is a big deal. Sometimes deciphering whether she is having a fit or simply truly saddened by what has happened is difficult, particularly when tears are involved. I tend to think she is having a fit, but I am learning that she is just a sensitive soul.

While the sudden outbursts of tears are not convenient and can be frustrating, I have been thinking about how wonderful a sensitive spirit is in the Christian life. When we are sensitive to God's still, small voice, saddened quickly by our sin, we are much more usable for Him. In addition, fear, while it can be a negative trait if we cannot trust our Savior to care for us, can turn into a carefulness that can keep one from sin. This can also translate into a healthy fear of the God of the Universe. These two traits have wonderful potential.

I have one child who goes full force at everything she does. Sometimes this is to her detriment, as she has sustained several injuries as a result. Her endless energy are exhausting to her parents, and there are times i wish I could just sit her down for 15 minutes and have her stay in one place. Yet, when that energy is harnessed and used to spread the Gospel or serve God in some other way, imagine how much she could do! When her enthusiasm for life and excitement about new experiences turns into enthusiasm for the Cause of Christ and excitement about new discoveries in Scripture, she will be doing well.

I do not spend hours reading blogs as some I know, but I have found a few that have challenged me in my thinking about biblical parenting and wifehood. I have linked to them on the left hand side of my blog. I would challenge you to visit them and have your thinking challenged and blessed as well! Here is the original post that sponsored my thoughts.

Comments

Janna said…
I love it! Giving thanks in all things. counting our blessings etc. Love you!
December 3, 2009 at 1:24 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Story Begins

-
Image
I am participating in a really fun project that is the brainchild of my friend Janna, who regularly blogs at The Adventure of Motherhood . Her project, entitled Mommy's Piggy Tales , encourages moms to blog about their childhood in 15 weeks. Here is the button if you want to learn more or consider joining. My dad, my mom, and me. My daughter, N, has that quilt now. Every year for Christmas my brother and I received our very own holiday ornament. Starting with the “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament, these ornaments usually reflected something we accomplished or did during the soon-to-be-past year. For example, the year I got my driver’s license, my ornament was Daffy Duck in a shiny new car. Every year we enjoyed putting “our” ornaments on the tree. It was a wonderful time to reflect back over our lives and the memories we had made. Sometimes we asked the reason behind the ornament, and learned a little more about our histories. When I married, I got a box with my ornaments in it to ...
Read more

Preschool: Life Changing Years

-
Image
I have been thinking since last week about what to write when it comes to preschool. I am participating in a fun project put on by my friend Janna at Mommy's Piggy Tales. Check it out! There are so many options. I could write about my imaginary friend, Polk-a-Roo, who I was actually a little afraid of. I could write about losing my favorite My-Little-Pony, Firefly, in the sandbox when some mean boys buried it at preschool. I could write about my only child, only grandchild years before my brother came along. I could write about my first “best friend,” the girl across the street (Klaire), who I sobbed over when it was time to move away. I could write about all of those things, but the truth is my preschool years are some of the most important of my life. See, my parents wanted me to be a “good person.” To reach that goal, they started going to church. Not long after they started attending church, something happened that would change the course of my life forever. My parents, throug...
Read more

Christmas Miracle

-
Image
Natalie was hamming it up for Tim the other night. Well, a lot has been going on in the past two months. About a month or so after the miscarriage, I was noticing something wasn't quite as it should be. I took a pregnancy test, and it came back positive. That was strange to me, because we were trying to prevent that as requested by the doctor. They called me in for blood work, and everything was indicating that I was pregnant. I was quite confused, as you can probably imagine. Two weeks ago we went in to have an ultrasound. That was eight weeks after the miscarriage. In that ultrasound they found what appeared to be a baby developing at 5 weeks gestation. We were quite perplexed, of course, because in our minds it should be about 8 weeks. The doctor asked us to come back today because at 7 weeks they should be able to see a heartbeat. The doctor said there was a good chance that there were just leftovers in there because of the earlier miscarriage, but that my numbers (hormone leve...
Read more