"Jesus Loves the Children"

We've all been taking turns being sick for the last week or so at our house. Little Fish has been the worst off. It's always heartbreaking to see such a little guy be perfectly miserable so much of the day (and night).

I read some uplifting things this morning, though, and I wanted to share. Chocolate on My Cranium has having another great series of guest posts. Today's is a lovely reminder about gratitude. It flows nicely into this post by an old friend of mine about time and homemaking and children. You are so inspirational, Mantha. Thank you.

I wanted to add some of the thoughts I have been having lately to hers. I recently read Heaven is for Real. This is a bestseller about a little boy's experiences. He almost died and had an emergency appendectomy. The doctors didn't expect him to live. He made a miraculous recovery. Then, months later casually mentioned to his parents about some of his experiences in heaven during the surgery. Further questioning over time revealed more and more information that led his parents to believe the experience was genuine.

After hearing about the book, I was curious, so I checked it out. It is a short book and a fairly quick read. I think the main messages that the family is trying to share are that heaven is real, God loves you, and Jesus loves the children.

It was the last one that struck me especially, and the reason I am writing about the book. The author says his son mentioned that over and over. "Dad, Jesus wants you to know that He loves the children." "Dad, Jesus says He really, really loves the children." I keep thinking on that. I think that is a message God would emphasize. Remembering that helps my perspective.

There is another thought I have been turning over in my mind lately to try and keep a proper perspective. I have been pondering lately what, as a parent, I am trying to prepare my kids for. I think we often try to make our kids perfect and give them perfect lives. This causes us to be embarrassed, angry, annoyed, etc. when they are not perfect. How realistic is that? (I say "we" but maybe you are different.)

I made a conscious decision to make my goal instead to prepare them for imperfect lives. I want to teach them the skills that they'll need to live imperfect lives. It sounds obvious. but I am finding that having this purpose in mind helps. (Wow, teaching with a purpose works just as well in the home as is does in Sunday school and Cub scouts.)

I am far from perfect myself, but I hope these thoughts help me move in the right direction.