Kitties in December!

Oh my goodness! What a wonderful surprise! I woke up on Friday morning with so much hope I could taste it. I love order. LOOOOOVE order. I knew it would be a day to catch up on laundry, clean the floors and hopefully tackle a couple neglected areas. And maybe, just maybe, we would have time to decorate the house with fresh evergreens and homemade snowflakes. We were off to a great start and feeling very optimistic by 10:00am. when I sent two of my children out to tend to the animals...

They promptly came running back into the house with looks of shock, excitement and concern all muddled together. "Mom, we think we heard kitties in the barn! We think something is trying to get them because we heard scratching and meowing!"

 

We all hurried to grab our boots and coats and raced out on our rescue mission. As soon as I entered the barn I could hear the most precious cries for help coming from kittens we had known nothing about. We followed them to my husband's metal recycling barrel and there they were. The scratching the kids had heard was not a ferocious animal, but it was coming from the kittens who were doing their best to keep from sliding any further down into the barrel. Two cuddly baby kittens were overjoyed to be rescued and reunited with their momma.

 

It took us awhile to get them all situated with momma cat. We made a cozy place for them to be safe from our dog, Max.  Just as we finished, we heard more cries for help! Another sweet kitty was stumbling around the hay loft when it slipped down and was clinging to a board so as not to fall all the way to the ground. Thankfully, a bucket was just high enough to step on so I could rescue our third kitty.





Three sweet kitties! We were ecstatic! And just as we had her situated, wouldn't you know, we heard one more cry from the hay loft! I had to find a ladder and pray this one wouldn't stumble over the edge! After what seemed like forever, momma cat got behind the kitty and somehow managed to encourage the last little kitten to come forward enough for me to reach out and grab him.

 

By now it was noon and our morning of productivity took a back seat to the blissful joys of new kitties! It was time to eat and I knew everyone needed some food in order to hopefully prevent any melt downs. We all ate quickly and spoke excitedly of our new kittens.

After lunch my youngest daughter ran out to check on them again. To her shock there were only two kitties left! We searched and searched and searched (forgetting all about my grand plans of conquering the house that day.) Finally, after finding fur near the kitty's new home I told the kids that something must have come and got them. We were all heart broken. We had worked so hard to save the kitties and protect them and now just an hour, later two were gone.

 

I tried to get through the rest of the day and we managed to get some school work done, but we all felt pretty bad about the whole situation. My husband came home around 5:30 that night and the kids all rushed out to greet him and fill him in on all the happenings of the day. They all decided to go out to the barn to check on the two kitties we still had and see if they could find any other clues of the other kitties' disappearance. About ten minutes later some VERY excited children came running up the steps, beaming from ear to ear! The other two kitties had been found and rescued!

 

What a day! I cannot imagine what it is like to live on a true farm! I feel like there is enough drama here and we only have chickens, a dog, two cats and now four very sweet kittens!

 

The house never did get "tackled," or decorated. But I have a feeling it will be a day the kids won't soon forget!

 

Each Child Is Unique

A follow up from the last post....

     For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given us, let us use them...."

Romans 12:5-6



I love it when scripture points out truths so eloquently, in ways I could never express on my own. This passage is  speaking of the spiritual gifts we have been given to be used for God's glory. Just as we are given different spiritual gifts, we are also created uniquely in other areas. God designed His church to be brilliantly different and when we gather as a body these differences were given to strengthen, support, and give depth to this living organism we call church.

After giving my daughter her pep talk during a spelling lesson a couple weeks ago, I have had many thoughts about the goals I have for my children individually. By nature I am always re-evaluating what I am doing, how I am doing it, if it is effective, if is worth the energy, etc. When I told my daughter I didn't care how she was doing in spelling, it was a true statement, but it was a very new idea that has not always resonated within my being. It has certainly caused me to question my parenting and teaching to see if I really am OK with my children's differences.

Children are unique. I know this. It is obvious. I see it demonstrated in families, in classrooms, in church gatherings, and at the park. I encourage my children to discover their unique gifting so that they can develop their strengths and use them for Christ (Just as it is stated in the scripture verses above)...And then something bewildering happens. I parent and often educate as if they are all the same. I expect them to learn the same things, at the same rate, using the same style to connect with all these profoundly unique children. For example, I have gotten frustrated when one child just isn't catching on to something that another child breezed through. If I really am OK with their differences, wouldn't it make sense that I would really be OK with each child excelling, or struggling in different ways and at different speeds. My humbling realization came when I saw that I was completely OK with the differences as long as that meant my child was ahead of "normal" in a given area. But what if they were behind?....When I was truly honest with myself I began to realize that when my children showed signs they were lagging behind a bit in an area, all sorts of unwanted emotions were thrust upon me... "I must not being doing something right... What will people think of my teaching ability? What will people think of my child and our family...?" My heart sank. It is never fun to see past the outer facade of your own heart and be welcomed with the self centered reality of insecurity... especially when it involves your children.

If I really believe that God gave us gifts and weaknesses then why am I so insecure? I believe that it is because I know it to be true in my head, but along with those thoughts are the desire to fit in, to be "normal." Who wants to be different? But one man's wise words shifted my thoughts and have continued to make me ponder the values I am afraid to admit to hold (valueing other's opinions above God's) Voddie Baucham quoted the scripture that says, " You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden..." Matthew 5:14 He then added, "Do you know what is interesting about a city on a hill? They are separate and distinct and therefore visible." I realize that this verse is talking about our calling to be set apart for Christ but I think that it ties in beautifully to the contradiction in my head.

If I really believed that we are created uniquely, I could truly see the beauty in those differences. I feel like I would see these differences with a grace and security that could only come by resting in Christs sovereign design for my family's lives.

My thoughts are shifting and I am now asking a different set of what if's?... What if my child is not excelling at the rate she should be, compared to normal standards, even if I was doing everything right? Again, what if she was never designed to be"normal" in the areas that would be socially convenient to be normal in. What if she was never intended to advance until later in her childhood and she is just soaking it all in to later bloom into brilliance. What if God blessed her with the gift of being "below average" so that she would have to lean into Him in ways "gifted" children never will. She will press into Him in all ways in all things for she knows she can do nothing without Him. It is time for this mama's heart to reconsider what the well educated child looks like. If that child is more artistically bent, relationally bent, scientifically, medically, etc. I hope that as a teacher and mother, I can give each child the freedom to learn in an atmosphere that they can truly thrive in... and be truly OK with that.

It is time to let go of so many of the pressures I place on my children that are rooted in the fear of what others might think of them and myself. It is time to really embrace all that my children are and all that they will become... Knowing that there will come, along with their beautiful strengths, weaknesses... that are perfectly normal and OK. Of course, I will help them in those weaknesses, but it is my hope that I will no longer be insecure in them.

We have been created uniquely and are called to walk a different road. Only when I am secure in this calling can I truly embrace my children in all of their beautiful individuality. I am ashamed to admit that I have lived far too long judging what is best for my children by first looking around to see what is normal... or what would be exceptional in the eyes of those around me. In John  8:32 it says that, "the truth will set us free..." That is my prayer. To truly be free of what others might think is normal, exeptational, or behind. Free...

Embracing the way they learn,

                         the speed in which they learn and

                                      the subjects they are excited to learn about.

 

Embracing the weaknesses and the strengths,

                        the struggle and ease,

                                      the calling no matter how prominent or meek.

 
    Knowing all the while that my loving God has made no mistake with my children. They are precious and unique to Him. They will will be precious and unique to me.