First of all, let me state that Meg is alllllll girl. She loves dresses and would wear one every day if allowed to do so (and if we had enough to match her moods). There are very few things that delight Meg more than a pretty dress with matching bloomers. Shoes are big as well. And, since its summer, she's also been begging to wear her "babing suit" (her pronunciation of bathing suit) as much as possible.
She's starting to get into dolls too. Currently she has four: DeeDee, Anna, Betsy and PoppyLucy. (I think I'll do a separate post on the dolls some day.) Although she enjoys playing with all of these gals at times, she does not seem to be the type of kid who really latches on to a specific item. She's never had a blanky or lovey or baby or teddy that has to go everywhere with her--she seems to prefer spreading the love more evenly between all of her toys.
Our girl loves reading and usually listens attentively when we read to her. She can often "read" a book to herself after hearing it a few times, reciting from memory lines from the text as she looks at the pictures. Among her newest favorites are The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper (we just received a hand-me-down version of this classic last week), and Cowboy Baby, by Sue Heap (from the library). Recently I've been giving her a daily quiet time in her own room, sitting her on her bed with a stack of books and leaving her. She seems to love this. One day I let her stay there for almost a full hour, and when I returned, she was happily finishing the second-to-last book in her stack, evidently in no hurry to move on to other activities.
The last year or so with Meg has been a big challenge for Dave and me. Like her parents, Meg is a sinner, and helping her to deal with her sin provides us with many opportunities to pray and seek God's wisdom in His Word. It also provides plenty of conviction, as our own sin is often revealed in our interactions with our kids. Sometimes, for me at least, it can seem like God is working solely on me and my sin, while all of my attempts to help my daughter curb her sin go by the wayside.
But yesterday I had an interaction with Meg that gave me real hope--for both of us. It was one of those moments when I responded in anger to something that she did or didn't do. The anger only bubbled to the surface for the briefest of moments before I stuffed it back down again, hoping that Meg wouldn't even notice it. Foolish me. "Mommy not be kind," observed Meg sadly.
"Not kind?" I replied.
"Mommy not kind when being anger," she clarified. Her discernment and her truthful words pierced my heart and brought me quickly to repentance. But after I asked her forgiveness, I had to rejoice. She knows that being angry is not kind and loving! That is something that we've taught her, something we've talked with her about so many times while it appeared, often, that our instruction was going unheeded. But it wasn't! Sure, it's easier for her, as it is for all of us, to clearly define someone else's sin than it is for her to deal biblically with her own. But at least she's listening! At least something is sinking in. God's grace is at work in her, and knowing that builds my faith for the long road ahead.
Other interactions reveal that our two-year old still has fairly... uh, fluid notions of theology and its implications for her everyday life. In a parenting seminar a couple of years ago, we received a helpful piece of advice from one of our pastors. He encouraged us, when dealing with a disobedient child, to ask her why she disobeyed and teach her to give this answer: "Because I am a sinner who needs a savior." It's a simple way for us to link every discipline situation to the gospel, and to go on to talk about God's wonderful provision of the Savior we so need, Jesus Christ.
So Meg has been well-versed in this idea that she needs a savior. This was clearly demonstrated this morning while I dressed her for church, as she scratched furiously at her chest. "I itchy," she announced. "I itchy cuz I need a savior."
Some recent pictures of this girlie...
Playing with finger puppets from Grandma Dawn and Grandpa Tom (Despite her nonplussed expression in these pictures, she loves these things.)
This charming fellow is Princey, a stuffed frog from Aunt Dacia. (We're pretty sure he was not intended to serve as a hat but, hey, it works!) (OK, OK, it was my idea... I thought it would be funny to make it look like he was eating her head.)
Reading books with Daddy while playing "wrap up tight". ("Wrap up tight" is a favorite activity. Pretty self-explanatory, hopefully.)
Self-portrait with Mommy, new sunglasses included
Taking a time out from the car on our recent road-trips--she and Daddy patrolled the back parking lot of a Cracker Barrel while I nursed Matthew.
Wooden block creations!
1 comment:
That is so encouraging to hear how all your training and hard work are already bearing fruit! Thanks for your example!
-Eva
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