Creating A Masterpiece
If you are a parent, remember that you are creating a masterpiece yet to be revealed to the rest of the world.
I remember finding out the news that we were pregnant with our first child, and my husband and I were ecstatic! We thought about bringing her home for the first time, walking out of the hospital with OUR child, watching her peacefully sleep, long hours of cuddling, sweet newborn smells, baby soft skin, and simply staring in amazement at this little life we had been entrusted with. We contemplated the person she would one day become. How would she impact this world? Would she be compassionate and tender? What would she be passionate about? How would she seek to love and serve others above herself? How would she see and experience the world [Insert the weight of responsibility here]?
The years have begun to pass, as we have now brought home our second child, and life is moving at a much quicker pace than it did nearly three years ago. Days are filled with reading books, coloring, changing diapers, playing with her doll house, pretending to run away from dinosaurs, and watching her rock her babies to sleep. I remember back to those early, quiet days where I had all the time in the world to just sit and stare at my daughter for hours on end, and now I'm trying to keep track of which closet or pantry door she's hiding in.
We can find ourselves sometimes chin-deep in the mundane of the day, can't we? Making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, getting another snack, cleaning up a mess, reading the same book for the 6th time in the last 2 hours, and picking up those same toys yet again (didn't I just put those away, we think?!?).
But if I could for just a minute lift your head from all that you see now to what is yet to be revealed. Your kids running around the house who are building towers, making forts under your kitchen table, playing house, and tearing up the toilet paper roll will one day grow up, leave your home to make one of their own, and impact society in big ways and small. All that we do today - to foster creativity, encourage risks, challenge thought, and cultivate kindness - has a direct impact on who our children will grow up to be. I'm not necessarily talking vocation (doctors, financial advisors, teachers, etc), but rather, the kind of PERSON they will become.
I recall a conversation I had one day with my mom several years ago regarding her child rearing of my brothers and me. I am a twin and also have a younger brother by 2 1/2 years, thus, my mom had her hands full, to say the least! I asked her one day how she kept it all together on the hard days. I find her response both profound and helpful, especially on the days when my patience seems to be running thin and the kids are a handful. "I always thought about the kind of people I wanted you and your brothers to become, and I let that guide my decisions, my interactions and conversations with you. I kept my eye on the long-term goal I had, which was to produce kind-hearted, assertive, positively contributing members to society."
Think about what your time with your children looks like - the values that are taught (good and bad), thoughts that are raised, and attitudes that are cultivated. One day your children will grow up. What kind of masterpiece will you have created?