Wednesday Wisdom Tip: I Hope You Like It, But If You Don’t…

 

Lynn'sPainting

 

Have you ever sensed your child was hiding her uniqueness from others?

Maybe, secretly, she really loves books. More than anything else, she can’t wait to come home from school and snuggle up on the couch with a new book.

Is she really into writing stories? While other kids want to go to the movies, she’d rather be writing movie scripts.

Is she really into classical music, gardening or Japanese culture? But she keeps these passions to herself?

Maybe not knowing if any one else is into what she’s into causes her to keep it under wraps; not share what really lights up her eyes. In fact, she’s downright scared others will think she is just weird.

For Christmas this year, my husband and I gave our son a gift card to Amazon. When he came to visit, he walked through the door with several bags…full of books! With lit up eyes, he took the books out of his bag, one by one, and told me about each one. Building piles based on the genre, author, and content, he shared with me why he was excited about each one.

Since the days of homeschooling, my son has always loved to read and learn, but in junior high and high school, this passion was set aside; hidden. I so wish I had encouraged him to embrace this unique part of himself and invest in the gift God had given him!

While we can’t control how their peers might view these unique aspects of our children, we can reassure them that we and Jesus sees all the things that make them one-of-a-kind…and we love it! We can even help to empower them to embrace their uniqueness in spite of what their friends may think.

I like to use props to get this message to stick with my kids. Here’s where I pull out something I have made.

This picture  above is a painting I made when I was on a creative whim several years ago. I hope that you like it, but even if you don’t, even if you make fun of it, it doesn’t change the way I feel about it. I made it; I treasure it. This picture shows a unique side of me – Lynn the Creator.

The same is true with Jesus. He made me so He treasures me. And He wants me to treasure me too!

In Isaiah 45:9 it says, “But doom to you who fight your Maker – you’re a pot at odds with the potter! Does clay talk back to the potter: ‘What are you doing? What clumsy fingers!” The Message

Not only does Jesus love her, He likes her! There isn’t anything she could do to make Him love her more and there isn’t anything she could do to make Him love her less!

Mom, today, by the way you talk about yourself, model to your girl you know you are treasured by Jesus. Share with her a unique thing about yourself that you have learned or are learning to treasure and then help her to treasure her unique qualities as well.

 

Lynn

2 Comments

  1. Love this Lynn! Yes, I have seen my kids hide their uniqueness…and I have also seen them come round again to fully embrace them. I love when that happens!

  2. I don’t have daughters by birth, but I have a son, nieces, cousins and soon to be step daughters. I have watched each of them change or struggle without their gifts. My son is smart but chooses to act as if he isn’t. They each have gone through body image issues and it’s easy for me to tell them to embrace the changes. Those changes are getting them ready for adulthood. It is reassuring to know what God’s Word says about these truths and awesome gifts.

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