belongings

i think it is really easy to fall into this mindset of those are MY children. afterall, i bath them, feed them, change their unmentionables, wipe their noses and face and otherplaces, and i carried them in my very own body for 40(+) weeks and they’ve got my blood though you can’t tell it much (they take after my husband, which is good, he’s handsome).

i used to wonder how people could ever emotionally survive fostering a baby knowing they’d have to give the baby Back–how do you return a child once they are YOURS? but lately i’ve been thinking about how no babies are ours really. you hear it in sermons sometimes–giving it all to God–but its one of those things that, for me, had a big gap between “sure, sounds good” and practical application.

so what is the role of parent? Possessor? Boss-Lady? maybe Shepherd to the Youngest Ones, home-pastor of littles, Minister of Very Beginnings.

in an attitude of These Are Mine, how easy it becomes to focus on if they embarrass me or make me proud or what people think of them or how cute they are dressed (or what a mess they are) and how quickly they learn ABCs (or don’t).

in an attitude of Minister, i keep the Long View–i’m with them at the start, how can i help them understand Gospel Truths i didn’t get til my 20s? how can i help them get a handle on those wild emotions while they are very young, so they won’t be dealing with that And all the new territory of Teendom? how can i lay-the-rails down solid, so i can usher them forward to their, much prayed and hoped for, call to Christ one day.