celebrating our differences

 

My two daughters could not be more different. I am asked if they are twins all the time because even though they are over a year apart, my oldest is short and my youngest is tall so they look very similar, especially when sitting down.

Mya has always been a very easy child. She slept through the night at 5 weeks and has been my easy one since. She potty-trained herself in just a few days. I rarely need to punish her because she usually listens the first time. She loves to help and is just all around pleasant. We had our first teacher parent conference with her preschool teacher and of course the teacher reported that she was doing very well and had no issues at all with her. She is helpful and kind and is coming right along with her learning and developing. My husband and I both wanted to be there so of course that meant that my 2 year old, Winter would also have to come. So as the teacher is going on about how great Mya is doing, Winter is getting in to everything, making messes, throwing fits and just being her normal self. And Mya is trying to tell her that she is not following the rules of the classroom. As we finished up talking to Mya’s teacher, I warned her that when Winter eventually came to be in her class, the report would be much different.

Winter is not easy. She is difficult. She is the most drawn to things she’s not supposed to touch. It’s almost magnetic. If she is told that she can’t have or do something, she wants it more than anything. She has a very strong urge to do everything she knows she is not supposed to do. She is sensitive and emotional. She regularly cries when things don’t go her way. She is very good at being two. Mya never went through the terrible twos. Winter started at about 13 months.

My husband Dan and I have a rule that if either of us is running an errand, we have to take one kid with us. It’s always Mya. Winter just makes everything a little harder.

When Dan and I were pregnant with our second child, we just couldn’t see how we could love the next one as much as the first, especially Dan. He just couldn’t image anyone as cute or funny or lovable as Mya. But even though they are so different, we now love them both so much because they are ours. We’ve been there from the very beginning and watched them grow. They are our little perfect beautiful creations.

Winter is a challenge to say the least, but she has a way of melting my heart with just a look. She is a force of nature and I love her so much.

Being a parent helps you understand so many things about God and his love for his children. All you have to do is pay attention and you can find examples everywhere.

This week I was reminded of how different God’s children are. And how sometimes, we feel like we are failing as moms or wives or just not as good a Christian as the next girl. But we are all created very unique. And God celebrates our differences, good and bad. He loves everything about us because we are His children. Imagine how much you love your kids. Multiply that by a bazillion or a really big number. And that’s how much God loves each of us. That makes me feel really special when I think of it from a parent’s perspective. I’ve been a Christian my whole life but I am still comforted by the fact that God loves me. And he accepts me just the way I am. It’s especially comforting on those days when I am my worst self. And my kids can bring out my worst self but they can also bring out my best self. And God loves it all.

Psalm 139:13 -14, 17, 18
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.” (NIV)

Jeremiah 1:4-5 “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” (NIV)

Isaiah 49:15-16
“Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” (NLT)