I've experienced two situations lately that have made the reality of raising a boy hit me hard. Raising a little girl is definitely no walk in the park. I want Hannah to be a mannerly, kind, generous, giving, thoughtful, loving woman. When I was pregnant with Hannah, I would pray two things over her every single day - that she would have a cheerful countenance and that she would be an adventuresome eater. Of course I want her to grow to love the Lord, serve Him, and nurture a relationship with Him. But I prayed for those two personality characteristics daily. And God has been so faithful in answering those prayers.
For Parker my prayers are different. I pray that he is tender-hearted but has a strong sense of character. I want him to be a
tender warrior. I am raising the future spiritual leader of a household, and to me, that's huge.
Last week Hannah and I were running errands. We found ourselves driving through a school zone just as a local elementary school was getting out for the day. We were in quite a bit of traffic in the middle lane. We were stopped as a crossing guard was letting a group of kids cross the street at the intersection several cars in front of us. To my right I watched as a boy (probably 4
th grade or so) rode by a group of girls (same age) on a Razor scooter. As he passed, he lifted his leg and side-kicked one of the girls
in the face. I was absolutely horrified as he rode away laughing. This girl was definitely not a pushover, and he did not kick her hard enough to cause any physical damage, but I honestly wanted to beat him up. That was my gut response. Traffic was stopped, and I was boxed in, so I could not follow him home which was my second response. I wanted to share with his mother just exactly what I witnessed. When I was finally able to get through the intersection and on to the next spot I could turn around I couldn't find him. He was long gone, and tears stung my eyes at the thought of him getting away with this. All I could do was to pray for that boy (I have no doubt the tough little girl will get her revenge, and this will not go under the radar) and his parents. What type of house must he live in to think it's okay to kick a girl in the face and laugh when she grabs her head in pain?
Saturday evening Chris and I spent out on a date night while sweet friends took care of Hannah (and did our
laundry!). We grabbed dinner to-go and sat in a local shopping plaza that has recently been decorated for Christmas to eat. When we finished eating, I headed over to the movie theater to get our tickets while Chris parked. As I was approaching the line a group of 4 middle-school-aged boys saw me approaching and ran to push in line ahead of me. I was shocked. Not only am I a woman, but I'm
pregnant! Since they weren't all paying together, that was four people I had to wait for. It was just so very rude of them. My hand immediately found my belly imagining what I would do if I saw my son being so inconsiderate.
Gosh it's a big responsibility to raise thoughtful, honest, and loving kids. I know from my short experience as a mom that modeling this behavior is the strongest teacher for our children. Hannah sees
everything I do and
imitates me. I've seen her copy my frustration, but I've also seen her copy my good moments too. I do not take this lightly.
Lord, help me to model YOUR character to my children and to shepherd their hearts in the way YOU would have them to go. Please help Chris and me guide Hannah and Parker into an adulthood that will make you beam with pride.
Can you find...
...found out yesterday that she's going to have a little BROTHER!
We had a bouquet of blue balloons and pink balloons awaiting the verdict to share with the big sister-to-be.
She was less-than-thrilled with the to-do when Mama and Daddy arrived to pick her up, but she warmed up to the whole thing once things settled down a bit and she was in Mama's arms (reassured that she, in fact, was still our baby).
And when given a chance to hold a bouquet of "boons" for the first time in her life, she was thrilled.
