Mom Heart Moments #216

I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts.

MANY LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE taught me that fitting into the mold or expectations of others is not God’s will for me. If, for example, I had followed all the parenting advice of friends, I could have easily cultivated rebellion or resentment in the hearts of my children. But because God gave them to me, it was for me to love, discipline, and nurture them according to their bent and the wisdom and intuition He gave day by day.

Each of my children had out-of-the-box tendencies. Sarah was a dreamer and introvert, and so many times people said we were too close to each other. Now she is my cowriter and dear friend —yet she travels all over the world in ministry, speaking and encouraging others. Joel was so abstract and artistic that at times my mom thought he was deaf because he wouldn’t reply to me when I talked to him or asked him to do something. Now he is a creative composer and a brilliant, absent-minded professor who is always dependable and hardworking but not at all time oriented. Nathan didn’t sleep through the night until he was four. He was also an extrovert and struggled with ADHD and other clinical disorders. A number of friends were critical of his behavior and immature bouts over the years. Yet I knew in my heart that harshness and spanking and criticism would have alienated him from me. He is now channeling that energy as an actor, an author, and a filmmaker. Joy was a firecracker, confident, always wanting to be doing something; she had a strong sense of personal justice and was ready to fight you about it if necessary! Today she is studying for her doctorate, writing a book, and regularly podcasting her thoughts to the world.

Each child was different; none of them fit anyone’s mold —and it was just too much pressure to worry about what anyone else thought, anyway!

How would you describe your own children? Take some time to think about the ways they are unique individuals —and gifts to you!