When we came home from camp, we discovered a sparrow had made a nest in our hanging plant by the front door. There are 3 tiny eggs (no bigger than your thumbnail) inside the nest! We have had so much fun checking the nest every day, watching for the eggs to hatch.
Also, my sister's cat had kittens this week! There are three tiny kittens that Elijah has named Annie, Crowny, and BB (this is him with Crowny).Don't babies, whether they're people or animals, embody everything that is precious to us? They are small and vulnerable, so we naturally want to care for them. They look so sweet in their miniature-ness that we want to cuddle them. You can't help but smile when you see and touch them! It has been fun to watch Elijah with these baby animals and see some of those tendencies come out in him. It is a natural reaction.
I am finishing an excellent read called Sacred Parenting, by Gary Thomas. Instead of being a parenting how-to book, he chronicles what happens in our own hearts when we become parents, showing how God uses the process of parenting to continue to refine us. We must mature when we care for another's spiritual welfare. There are many lessons we must learn, such as how to sacrifice, how to be less self-centered, how to deal with guilt and anger, how to listen to God, how to allow our children to go through hardships, and how to let go. In one chapter, he says he was praying for his son, and he felt God tell him, "You must become what you are praying for your child to become." It's amazing how being responsible for a life brings out these parts of your heart, causing you to dust off cobwebs in corners you didn't know existed! If you have children, Sacred Parenting is a must read.
Gary Thomas has called me once again to be a parent that brings my children into spiritual depth, instead of being a parent that makes decisions based on what is convenient for me.
Thank you, Father, for the miracles of these lives! They prove again that You are good, and You care for every life. Please help Lance and me listen keenly to Your guidance as we point Elijah and Kate to You.
1 comment:
Very sweet prayer. I can't wait to start reading Sacred Parenting. I love Kate in her piggy-tails. Elijah looks precious holding the kitty. I can't wait to hear about the story once the sparrow eggs hatch. We once took in two baby doves that had been orphaned after a big storm. We fed them through a medicine dropper and ended up getting really attached to them. Even though it has been two years, I still think about them all the time.
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