Who I am in Christ is all that matters. Who I’ve been doesn’t matter much, nor does who you think I am.
Oftentimes we find it hard to step into who we are in Christ because of what is mentioned above.
Who we’ve been can potentially have a death grip on our lives without us even knowing or acknowledging it. “Letting go of what lies behind…” can be one of the hardest things for some to do. All that was known, all that was seen and all that was experienced may be a hard thing to let go of. But, imagine trying to walk into everything God has for you while still holding onto everything He doesn’t have for you. You’d never be able to grab ahold of it. And it’s not because you don’t want to, it’s because you’re holding onto what He doesn’t want you to.
God’s plan through our identity is perfect. But do we trust Him enough to believe it?
Who someone else thinks you are is not more important than who God says you or or who God knows you are.
We oftentimes work our way up to an image stamped in approval by others, all the while abandoning the image we were created in. God had a plan from the beginning of time for your life and He hasn’t changed His mind about it, or you.
Believe Him when He shows you who you are and trust that His plan is geared towards your God.
You are…
wonderfully complex
Psalm 139:14
God’s masterpiece
Ephesians 2:10
created in God’s own image
Genesis 1:27
Phillipians 3:13-14
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
So tonight while doing a few activities with Eli I sat for a while in wonder at this little human.
Not because he’s mine or anything but because he really is great at grasping whatever it is you throw at him. It’s like he just retains information extremely well! We recently started going over his colors and he already knows almost all of them (with the exception of brown)! Ha!
As I worked with Eli tonight I continued to think on his development and all the places he’ll go. I also thought about my role as a mom. The role I play in his development and how I may be able to add to and foster this growth.
I am aware of the need for me to help strengthen specific areas regarding his growth and development so that they can better serve him in the future. Areas like language, literacy, social emotional, fine motor and gross motor skills are all areas (among many others) that if worked on often can catapult Eli into the next level of learning when it comes to his overall education.
It is scientifically proven that the first 8 years of a child’s life is critical for the the building of the foundation for future learning, health and life success. The brain is 90% developed within the first 5 years of a child’s life. So think about how much we just give up on when we don’t take the time to develop a thing, the time to build that thing, the time to form a foundation of something or someone before placing expectations on it.
The thing with working on these skills is that I can not expect things of Eli that are not developmentally appropriate. I can set expectations or goals and work towards them with him but I cannot just expect things from him that have never been worked out in him, or even practiced by him.
This then lead me to my next thought. Isn’t it like us to set expectations on others that are not developmentally appropriate for them or for the place they are regarding their spiritual walk, maturity in specific areas and just in general? Isn’t it like us to want to just get rid of something or someone because they don’t do what we want them to do? Isn’t it like us to just throw the whole thing away because it isn’t responding the way we’d like it to? We haven’t received what we wanted from it (a thing) or them (people) so we are just done with it or them all together.
Developmentally Appropriate according to Scholastic describes an approach to teaching that respects both the age and the individual needs of each child. The idea is that the program should fit the child; the child shouldn’t have to fit the program!
There is much to gain when we remain committed to the development of others. People shouldn’t just be disposed of because they didn’t do what we wanted them to do. They should be worked ON and IN, in order for the desired result to be worked OUT. We have to work with people. We have to be patient. We have to believe the best. We have to hope the best, in order to see the best.
There is sooo much potential in every human being, we just need to be those that are determined in working out the skills needed in order for that potential to be developed in others. We have to respect where they are but be committed to working on the growth and development of that person through our thoughts, words and actions. No one is perfect but all people should have other people around them that help build them up and help mature them into who they should be in life. People, who are willing to not give up on them and work towards the desired expectation or goal with them.
It isn’t healthy to expect before working. The goal is achieved and the expectation is met AFTER the work is done, not before it. The right preparations have to be made in order to achieve the desired result.
Keep Reading…
James 5:7 NLT
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.
Psalm 126:6 NLT
They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.
Galatians 6:9 NLT
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
So this blog was inspired by those that are constantly asking me “How do you get to do so much with Eli?” “Aren’t you tired?” “What about your house? How are you able to clean, run errands and do something with Eli most weekends?” “Where do you find the places you take him?”
Firstly I want to note that I am conscious of when God is asking me to sacrifice my time of leisure to accomplish a specific task. On these days I stay home or go where I have to in order to accomplish this or these task.
My How:
#1
I have tried a few things that work very well for me! Instead of leaving every errand and household chore for one day, I do it through out the week. I’ll do laundry on a Thursday, clean my home one room a day or I take one evening during the week to clean the entire house and this works for me.
#2
Instead of spending my entire morning at the supermarket on Saturdays I do my grocery shopping during the week after work (I make it a family trip) or I take care of it after our fun activity on a Saturday or on Sunday after church. I also don’t do big grocery shopping, I do a little at one store and then a little at another according to what I need. Either way, it still gets done and I still get to enjoy the weekend with my loved ones.
#3
I’m not convicted when I enjoy my Sunday at an outing with my little one after Sunday Service or if I don’t go to service and decide to spend time to hear from God at home and following this spend some QT with my family. Neither does my house have to be spotless in order for me to leave it on a weekend.
Scriptural Reference:
Psalm 118:24 NLT
This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Everyday is a gift from God and I refuse to spend it moping around because I missed the “mark” (that has been set out for me by others). I will rejoice and be glad in each day even if this fact stated in the scriptures is the only thing I have to rejoice about.
It has taken me some time to get here given the fact that I grew up in a home where normally everything had to be clean before we left the house on a Saturday to enjoy our time. It was customary for us to clean and get our laundry done on the weekends so that we can be prepared for our work week. My thoughts on this drastically changed due to no specific reason other than thinking on it.
By no means am I a messy person, if you ask most they’d tell you that I really am a neat freak. But these thoughts really began to bother me. So I wanted to clearly define what I believe about them.
Here it is:
Most of us spend 40 hours or more at work and then spend most of our free time preparing to be there (by taking work home, preparing ourselves to be there and obsessing over what has to be done before we get there on Monday). The question of “Where is the balance?” was something I asked myself and soon after I began to change the way I did things. Before committing my time to anything I consider what matters to me most, my desired end result and how I can still lead a balanced life if I committed my time to something. I am a firm believer that in order for me to be any good to anyone I have to be well balanced in life. This is the topic of another blog coming soon so I won’t dabble in it too much.
Here’s something I heard a man say about his wife that also helped shape the thinking I currently have.
“I wasn’t concerned so much if my wife could cook and clean, because those are all things I can pay for, I was more concerned with her character and her relationship with my mom…”
This thinking was extremely valuable thinking. My goal is to focus on the essence, beauty, character and foster good relationships with my loved ones rather than focus on how well they do a task that can be paid for. How much does being able to cook and clean say about who a person is? I also think this way about how I spend my time on the weekends. If my house is spotless and my laundry is done and everything is perfect but I don’t spend anytime with Eli and fostering the development of who he is as an individual, what good is a clean house, and everything being all set for the work week ahead of us? How am I training my child to think? What am I training him to put value in?
We sometimes work to prepare for work, but forget to work to prepare for balance. Times of leisure, family, things that God has placed on our heart to accomplish, our hobbies and things that can free us from working harder but working smarter all get put on the back burner as we prioritize one thing “work”.
Answering Some Questions:
How do you get to do so much with Eli?
I prioritize what’s important and divide my responsibilities (the things I have to do – call companies, tackling my to-do list, paying bills, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping etc.) for days/evenings in the week.
Aren’t you tired?
Sometimes I am, maybe most times, but when I push past my tiredness I often realize that I wasn’t really that tired after all and enjoyed our outing so much that I don’t mind being tired.
What about your house?
I do as much as I can during the week or before and after our activities and if I don’t get to everything, tomorrow is another day.
How are you able to clean, run errands and do something with Eli most weekends?
I don’t say that “Saturday’s are the only day I have to do these things.” I adjust my week schedule to do them and also make time for rest, and not do them. I’m okay with that as well. I know my limitations and know when I can be doing more.
I hope this helps someone know that it is okay to do things outside of what has been your “norm” for forever by switching things up to create a new norm for yourself. A norm that works best for your values, preferences and what’s important to you.
Where do you find the places you take him?
Google and surfing the internet are my go-to’s for finding fun things to do with Eli. Word of mouth and being connected to your community and their events are also great for finding things to do with your little ones.
TrulyArielleA 