Wow , this subject is so important to parenting. Too often as parents we key in on things like academics, athletics, or even worse popularity and fashion styles, when trying to help our kids develop a good self esteem in who God created them to be. Of course the ultimate area of our children's' hearts we should be concerned with is their spiritual person, there is something very closely connected with that we often miss. It is subtle yet so important.
It is key for us as parents to try discover our child's natural bent or inclination to something and encourage that. We may at the moment feel like it is a trivial talent or a hobby that would never "bring in the big bucks", but as your child grows, I believe you need to put aside those thoughts and see where your child's interests are taking them. What makes your child unique, stand out, different from the rest of the kids?
If we admit it sometimes we don't want our kids to stand out, we want them to fit in. But this is not God's plan for any of us. Tanner is a great kid. Our second oldest struggles with some pretty major learning hindrances. He continues to to fight to overcome them. Homeschooling has been a lifesaver for him.
Growing up he has loved playdoh. He would play for hours with playdoh. He also liked silly putty, mud and anything else in this line of consistency. At one time he graduated up to modeling clay, which is where he is at now. At first he would just make tons of little blobs and pretend they were animals or TV characters or made-up characters. We bit our tongue. It seemed like a a big mess to us and a little strange. Then he started modeling for real, mixing colors and making real figures. Now he is asking mom to bake them and he and his brothers play with his characters! They are pretty awesome if you ask me - for a 10-year old they are stinking awesome!
So what does God have in mind for Tanner and this developing gift? I don't know, but God does. Isn't that exciting to know. God made him for a special and unique reason and we don't have to form him into any image the world would try to put him in.
1 comment:
Agreed, Marty!! You nailed it - never count out a character trait or ability because we don't know how God wants to use us in the future!
One of the most influential things parents I know have done (aka. influencing me for future parenting) is that when they send out their yearly photos of the kids, they include a long email about that child's year - the interests, developements, hobbies, spiritual and personal learnings, etc. So wonderful to see them value each child so much.
-Katie
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