Lately, I've had a few rare moments when I've been able to see the woman that my oldest is going to become. Every once in a while, I'll "catch" her being especially kind to her little sisters or she'll willingly help me with a chore and offer to do more on her own. It has been such a surprise to me to see this latest transformation begin to happen. I've been praying that God will show me opportunities to lift her up and fill her heart with gladness, and He is giving me a lot to work with.
Recently, I began to form a comparison between my family and the characters in the "Winnie the Pooh" stories. You see, my oldest tends to be the Eeyore of our family. Always a little gloomy and negative and only rarely cracking a positive attitude. At least that's how she is with us at home. To the rest of the world she is cheerful, funny, engaging, intelligent etc. But at home she's our Eeyore. My youngest is definitely a Tigger. Very bouncy, cheery, engaging, funny, and positive. She's always enthusiastic and is the life of the room, but also finds herself into a mess of trouble because she doesn't really think things through. My middle child is Winnie the Pooh. Very even spirited, sensitive to others, caring and kind with a little bit of mischievousness when she gets in a group of other mischief-makers. I'm trying to be a Kanga mommy instead of a Rabbit mommy and my husband is Christopher Robin.
Anyway, as a wanna be Kanga mommy I'm trying to convert my Eeyore child to a Roo. I love how God is showing me ways to lift her up and be more gentle with her. Homeschooling her has allowed me a lot of opportunity to bless her and notice the little things that happen throughout the day. As hectic and crazy as our days can be, and as frustrated as we all get with each other, I'm incredibly grateful and thankful for this season in my life. The rare opportunity to get to have such a direct impact on not only my child's education, but her salvation, her safety, her relationship with her sisters and her relationship with me, is something I will never forget.
As she enters into this pivotal 6th grade year when all kinds of things are happening to her, physically, emotionally and spiritually, I am so thankful that God is with us and that He has allowed me to walk with her on this journey. It's humbling, exciting, and exhausting, but most of all, it's the best thing I will ever do in my whole life.
1 comment:
Thank you Kim! I aspire to be "Kanga" too. As I read this I remembered a Pooh movie where Piglet switches places with Roo and Kanga simply treats Piglet as if he(she?) is Roo. Well Kanga's love and care win Piglet and the rest over. So thank you helping me to remember to treat my children as if they are already the people I hope they'll be.
All of us live up to or down to the bar that is set.
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