What My Child Taught Me

Every night either Gavin or I give our youngest daughter a bath.  Tonight, it's my turn, and I am watching her dance and twirl as the water runs.  Happy and carefree though she is,  I can hear the nightly news in the background.  The talking head drones on, and I am vaguely aware of what he is saying.  Hurricanes and tornadoes and terrorism and war, and I wonder at what point a child ceases to be such a free spirit and instead is taken hostage by all that is wrong with the world. I thought to myself, Right now, I am all that to her.  Everything she knows about the world is what I have taught her, but most importantly what I have shown her.  By my example, am I demonstrating love and compassion, hope and stability?  Have I prepared her to navigate uncertainty, selfishness, jealousy, greed,  and loss?

To twirl with such abandon, drunk on her own happiness, dizzy with creativity and brimming with sweetness is God's gift to children like her.  And although many of the world's children live in poverty and abuse, and might only wish to dance and sing, little Cari Jill is not one of them.  I have been given an amazing gift, and the gift brings with it an enormous amount of responsibility.  As she grows, so will her circle of influence.  It is my job to make sure that the center of that sphere is as strong as it can be.  That way, when the yuck of the world surrounds her, what centers her will be the foundation of her years as part of our family.  Sure, there will be disappointments.  Even failures.  But my most trusted source of comfort is that Gavin and I don't have to raise our children by ourselves.  Our church partners with us to guide us every step of the way.   This week, they taught her this:

"As for God, his way is perfect."--Psalm 18:30

Is there anything else she needs to remember?