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Tea Time Tuesday: Aren’t they the cutest?
These are my treasures, my deepest friends. If I have any extra time, I want to spend it with them (and Clay), talk to them, invest life with them, seek their advice. Though we live far apart, and sometimes I miss them so dearly, I take great pleasure watching them pursue their own stories, find godly destinies where they each give beauty and love back to the world within the context and parameters of their own personalities.
It all started when I held my tiny infant close, looking at those wide opened eyes staring up at me intensely. Then a smile came over her soft little face because my precious one recognized me — me! What a gift. An unexplainable joy filled my emotions. My heart was captured forever by this miraculous little human being.
Eventually, I would be blessed with 4 such treasures named Sarah, Joel, Nathan and Joy. Each one totally unique, individual sparkle, diverse personalities, but all a part of me, my inside self. We explored and ventured through life together. They caused me to grow less selfish, more understanding of life — its limits, its wonders. We experienced life as companions daily. I marveled more at God as I watched Him through their eyes. They made me giggle, amazed me, brought such deep and unexpected pleasure in love, belonging, and I had a “pack," my people, where I belonged.
Over years they grew, strained towards the dreams of life that they would each pursue individually, according to their “bent.” There were, of course, ups and downs, stretching toward wisdom and insight into the vast secrets and dilemmas of life. It called me to give all that I could with my whole heart. I did it imperfectly but with intentionality, all that I could muster. But they were loving, accepting, grace-filled little human beings who were ready to love in return and forgive. And I was ready to accept their frailty and strengths as well because that is how we rolled.
Join me today on my podcast to ponder the sweetness of cultivating deep friendship with your children, and learning how to put the duties of life into their proper place.