Each Child Is Uniquely Made
"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." -- Matthew 18:5
All children are wonderfully created, unique and special just the way they are. I believe this with all my heart. I also know that people don't always view the differences between children as wonderful. This is especially true when it comes to siblings.
Recently someone I know chuckled at the differences between two small siblings. The elder sibling is "perfect." This child has always been easy to deal with, follows parental commands and plays well with others. The younger child, well, not so much. This child has a temper, wants to explore and, basically, gets into everything. My heart ached for the younger child.
I followed a "perfect" sibling. He never did anything wrong and I never did anything right. Not much has changed over the years except that we've all grown older and I've reached the point of no patience for the put-downs and comparisons that still come my way.
Part of me understands that most parents don't mean to favor one child over the other. In fact, I'm sure many don't show favoritism. They simply treat their children differently according to their personalities. But for those few who do favor the "easy" over the "difficult" child -- shame on you!
All of us have our unique quirks. We all have our own way of doing things and reacting to things. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses. We are all different. God made us that way. We're meant to be one of a kind. We should embrace those differences, especially in children. No child should ever be compared to an older sibling. It isn't right and it isn't fair.
Jesus welcomed all of us to His altar. He invited us to come just as we are, no matter where we are. How can we then show any less acceptance to the unique and varied children He welcomed into his arms?
No comments:
Post a Comment