These Three

As my son says, we are blessed for three kids.  Meaning, of course, that we are blessed with three children. They are beautiful.  They are surprising.  They are so one-of-a-kind.

Let me honestly say that the first two are very intense.  Spirited.  But in completely different ways.  One is an extreme extrovert, the other is an introvert, though less extreme than in the past.  One is very sensitive to smells, the other to touch and texture.  One is a by-the-book rule follower.  The other is as free spirited as the wind.   They each have passionate and intense emotions and for different reasons.

Life with two highly spirited children has been a blessing in disguise.  Over the years I've learned to embrace how these kiddos, mingled with their two parents, have shaped our family dynamic in ways I wouldn't have guessed.  One of my catch-phrases for our family is "Just because it's supposed to be fun doesn't mean it is". Things like parades, amusement parks, hiking, board games,  party games and sports teams have all fallen into this category.  There have been many things that just didn't end up working for us because of the intensity and personality preferences of these two children.  I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me.  And there have been times that I wished away this intensity and wondered if I had done something to produce it in them.  Were we simply doing everything wrong as parents?  Other children didn't seem so extreme.

Then along came the baby of the family.  I call her Petite.  We had four years with just the two children, then Petite arrived.  She was born on a Tuesday and it's been true that Tuesdays' child is full of grace.  We marvel at how laid back she is.  How sweet and relaxed and decidedly less intense.  Surely she has a tantrum now and then.  But I see barely a hint of a strong will.  She's full of cheerfulness most days.  I never worry about a sudden explosion of emotion coming out of her. We can take her anywhere. She is full of positive energy.  Lately she often says to us "I'm so  proud of you.  I love you so much.  Thank you so much."  Yes, we marvel at this little girl and how just plain easy she has been to raise so far.

Yesterday when she was being and doing and saying something adorable, Josh said to me "Wow, can you imagine what it would be like if they were all like this?"

In an instant, I knew the answer.  "Yes." I said. "We'd be prideful and lean on our own understanding. We'd think we were doing everything right. We'd think everybody else's kids were awful and that their parents were doing everything wrong.  We wouldn't pray for our kids the way we do because they would seem just fine.  They could grow up as good kids and still be far from God."

God gave us a blessing when he gave us two intense children to begin with.  They have served to keep us humble and dependent on Him.  Nothing has been "easy" about raising them.  We have to constantly seek their Creator for wisdom and to refocus us on Him.  They remind us that our family is unique and that's how God wants us. When we have compared our family and what we can and can't do to other families, especially "good" families, we are miserable.  When we have embraced each personality and preference, we enjoy our family.  We have seen how deeply we, and our children, need the Lord.

We are thankful for our easy-going baby.  She has been a breath of fresh air and a complete joy to our family.  We are equally thankful for our spirited, intense son and daughter.  Life is never boring, it is rarely low-key.   We have no false sense of anyone's righteousness, especially our own.  We pray for our three children continually.  Because of that, we are encouraged that they all will turn out just fine.  Hopefully, as passionate, intense, extreme pursuers of God. With just a little bit of "easy" on the way.