Sunday, March 9, 2014

time-consuming children

Word of warning: Don't become a parent unless you have tons of time on your hands.

Unless it is your dream to be a mom or dad and you are willing to devote your life to it.

Then do it because it is awesome!

I'm not just talking about the lack of sleep whilst taking care of that newborn.  Or driving your kiddo from soccer games to church functions to Girl Scouts.  It's not just doing their laundry, making their lunches, or doing homework with them.  (Although all that uses up so much of my crafting time!!)

I'm talking about the time it takes to reach their hearts.  It takes conversation.  Heart to heart.  Deliberate choices to discipline appropriately.  And following up after discipline. Conversations at mealtime, on the way to school, at bedtime.  Lessons learned after good and bad life experiences.  And praying together. 

My oldest and I have had numerous heart-to-heart conversations.  Little by little I am seeing changes in her perspective and attitude.  (I have to remind myself that training takes time; years even!) Even my 5 year old and I have these intentional talks and I love to see him process it all and apply it to his choices in the future. 

We talk about how to treat our friends at school and how to respect others, even if we don't particular enjoy their company.  We talk about the words that come out of their mouths and how they can hurt other people's feelings (even mommy's feelings).  We talk about trust and how lying or being sneaky can break that trust. We talk about being obedient and helpful to adults. We talk about their negative behavior and how to make better choices.  We talk about how Jesus can help them when they struggle to make good choices.  We talk about it all. 

So perhaps what I'm getting at here is not so much how much time is given to our children, but how we use the time with them. Deliberate. Intentional. Purposeful.

KC

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