Thursday, June 30, 2011

If there were only one

If there were only one child in my home things would run more smoothly.

I would be able to have that child help with cleaning tasks because having only one child following me around is MUCH easier to keep track of.  I would have only one child to even be cleaning up after.  Only one child who produced dirty laundry.  Only one child to plan school stuff for.  Only one child worth of clothes and supplies to be kept.  There would be no arguments over what show to watch in the morning while mama makes breakfast.  I would be right on top of discipline because with only one child there wouldn't be anyone else in the house to distract me from properly teaching and training my child in the way he/she should go.

With only one child in our home my child wouldn't have to learn to share on a daily basis.  They wouldn't have to learn how to prefer their sibling and wait patiently for their turn for mama's attention.  My one child wouldn't have to worry about a brother keeping him awake at night.

My children are blessed.  They are blessed that they are not just one child in our family.  They get to learn how to share right from the start.  They get to see love lived out daily and sometimes be the ones living it out as they give their prized toy to a brother or baby sister to stop the tears from flowing.  They get to have best friends sleep over EVERY night!  They get to learn to wait patiently so it won't be such a hard task to learn as they get older.

Yes, it's definitely much harder for me to be on top of every minor little thing that happens when there are four kids sometimes running/toddling in four very different directions.  Sometimes what others might see as a HUGE discipline issue gets barely any notice but I do the best I can.  I have to trust that God put these four babies in our family all together for a reason.  I have to trust that He will equip me to teach and train them to the best of my ability and that He will step in where I, as a human, fall short.  And I do trust that.  I trust that if I teach my children to respect other people that God will be faithful to show them how obedience is a sign of respect.  I trust that if I teach my children to prefer one another and share their toys that God will show them the great rewards in living a more selfless life.  I trust.

And mostly I remember that if there were only one.... my life would be incredibly mundane and boring.

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