Looking Back

The baby of our family, namely, Emerson Mary Chatham, will be one year old on Thursday. Her mama wants Grandpa and Grandma to be in attendance. We all celebrated the week after Christmas and that was nice since the rest of the party goers would not be able to be there on Thursday. Emerson is doing all the cute fun things one year olds do. She is into sign language presently. She knows several words or should I say "signs". Mama or Dada say a word like baby, and she folds her little arms and rocks to and fro. Her parents are having a ball watching the miracle of development. She knows my voice on the phone and gets all giddy. Yesterday, Kendra told her they would call Grandma and she got all excited until she heard a different voice on the house phone. Then she started to cry. When I called back she returned to the thrill of hearing her Grandma's voice. They are certainly little divine miracles.

Kendra shared with me that she and Craig think it is important to eat as a family. (praise the Lord). It isn't very consistent for them as Craig is a basket ball coach and is at school until late evening so they have to look ahead and plan the nights they will sit around the table and eat as a family. Don't ya just love to hear the values you taught your kids coming out a generation later? Family meal time is something that our busy lifestyles have stolen from the society we live in. I'm sure it is Satan's plan. Break down the family any way he can. Anyway, Emerson has always been a very good eater. Kendra made all her food with the goal of giving her life's best. Suddenly, the last few days, she won't eat anything Kendra is making her. When offered a jar of baby food, she will eat some of it BUT....the best food of all comes from either Mommy or Daddy's plate. Aren't kids funny. All those transitions a mother wonders if she will get through and some how or another it all works out. So feed her from your plate, what's the difference?

Sometimes as parents we have such presupposed ideas of what is right or good. Recently when Josh and Jennifer's eleven year old nephew came for a two month visit, he was having difficulty sleeping at night. Jennifer would often walk into his room and find tears streaking down his little face. She called the boy's father, her bio brother and asked what was the scoop. Well, Dad said, he has never slept alone in a room, he is used to having a family bedroom. Of course, duh, that's the Asian way. So Kip and Jennifer moved his bed into their room and the drama was over. Poor kid. I can't count on how many parents have a thing about NOT letting a child into their bed or Not having kids in their bedroom. I think we need to lighten up. Not all our ways are the best or the only. I'm sure Asian kids grow up just as self assured (or more) than US kids.

Some parents operate as an oak tree. Still, solid, strong, unbending, totally assured. They think they can't help but succeed. They are surprised when their heavily disciplined child walks away.

Some parents operate as an weeping willow tree. Soft, whispy, blown this way and that, sweeping the ground on occasion, dropping twigs and leaves all over the place and sucking every bit of moisture out of the ground, There really is little boundaries or absolutes. Kids are allowed to blow with the wind and develop their own growing up plan.

Some parents operate as Psalm 1:3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Did you notice that this tree has a steady diet of water........it yields....which means it can take changes.......it produces fruit at the right time and the leaves don't wither. That produced fruit has eternal value. And the biggest parental goal around.........whatever he does prospers.