Friday, December 9, 2016

Uniquely

Each of my children are made in my image yet they have unique needs and personalities. One is prone to fear and negativity. One is prone to unkind words and distractions. The other is very sensitive and prone to poor nutrition. Likewise, each of them have unique talents and giftings.
Because of their unique needs and different personalities I parent them each differently. One requires a firm voice and learns best through the stories I tell. One requires lots of hugs and encouragement. The other requires a gentle voice and buckets of creativity.

Sometimes one of my children will become jealous when they notice the different ways I parent their siblings. They will see me giving more hugs to one, a gift to another and yet an encouragement to the other and wonder why they do not receive those same things in equal proportion. At times they will lose sight of the special, unique relationship we share and instead compare themselves with how I interact with the others.

During those moments I need to remind them who they are and the special, unique ways in which they are different from the others. I remind them of the ways in which they are wired, what sets them apart from the others and why I love them uniquely.

But unless they come to me with their concerns I can't deal with it. They need to tell me how they are feeling and why they are feeling that way so I can remind them who they are and get them back on track. Unless they come to me they tend to become bitter - hard - and lose sight of my incredible love for them.

As children of God we each possess amazing, unique differences which serve to highlight the brilliant, colorful mind of an infinite Creator.

But comparison robs us of our identity. We begin to focus on and celebrate certain giftings over the others. We see the other ways in which our Father is parenting His other children and we become jealous. Distracted. Insecure. We forget about the special moments we have shared with our Father, the words He has spoken to us and why He loves us so much.

Sometimes we can go days, weeks, months, years without bringing these concerns to our Father. We get caught in cycles of distractions, jealousy, insecurity - all without ever letting Him know how we are feeling so He can alleviate our concerns, so He can tell us who we are and get us back on track.
He's always there though. He meets us in that place. Blessed are the brokenhearted. Blessed are the meek. Something powerful happens when we open up to our Father. A divine transfer takes place.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

May we learn to rest in the the unique ways in which our Father has wired us. May we learn to cherish the unique rhythms of grace He breathes into each of us. May we rest and trust in the many ways He loves each of us uniquely.

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