Wonderfully Made

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

Isn't it wonderful how God made us each so unique? One of the things that I am trying to work on as a parent is to appreciate the uniqueness in each child. To help them to see the gifts that God gave them and to not be envious of others who share different gifts. Recently, I started reading a book by Dr. Kevin Leman, titled Making Children Mind without Losing Yours. He discusses the importance of relationship building before establishing rules. I often think that we can try to control our children, but if we ultimately want their love and respect, we need to try to understand and appreciate them first. Discipline should be rooted in love more than authoritative control.
If you know my daughters, then you've come to know the differences that each of them share. I think it is exciting to have two girls who are so different, athough it often feels as times that I am parenting all over again. How awesome our God is to give us children who are so different that we can love and learn from in different ways.
One time Big Sis made a comment about herself that was negative. I asked her, "How would you feel if someone said something bad about the painting that you made in art class?"
"I would feel sad," she resonded.
"Well, that is how God feels when you talk about something special that he created," I explained.

We are beautiful, our spouses are beautiful, and our children are beautiful because we are all works of God! We are his unique creation.

Dear Lord,
Thank you so much for loving us for who we are- your unique creation. Help us to value our children's uniqueness and to love and see them like you do.
In Jesus' name,
Amen