Friday, August 24, 2012

Join Hands

When my little butterfly (third of 4 daughters) was seven, she wrote a poem that was published in the Sunday newspaper.

I treasured her poem in my heart... as I treasured its meaning in my intentions... as I worked to develop this little darling into the woman God wanted her to become.  She wrote it the year our family began an adventure in home education that would last for over 14 years. 

One night, near the end of our first week of school-at-home, I announced to my prince that I had fallen in love with our children all over again.  The first 3 girls had been launched each morning onto a bus for several years, and the school had become their family for most of the day, the teachers were the daytime mommy, the bus drivers the aunts and uncles, the classmates the siblings.  But I didn’t know this until that first week...the week we joined our hands, our hearts, and our heads...the week our home became school...the week God became principal, Mom and Dad teachers, and Siblings became classmates  -- and friends for a lifetime.

My little butterfly was the middle child...quiet, determined, sometimes looking a little lost in her quietness. This little girl loved touch, so we hugged a lot. We invented hugs for every occasion. That is how I made sure she was noticed and acknowledged.  She was and still is the best hugger I know.  And you know what else? She became a pediatric nurse when she grew up, attending to little children in the same hospital where she was born.

You, who are teaching little people... hear ye , 
hear ye!

Look for those little sparks of interest in your children and gently blow on them, giving  them oxygen and fuel, remembering always that there are three major roles in your task and each one must do his/her own part. 
God. You. The child.
Each joins in the great and awesome project of taking the little sparks which join other little sparks to create a flame.

I love you, Vanessa!
My little butterfly hugging her niece.
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6 comments:

  1. Oh Girl! love this tender heart hearing hers! I too, am a pediatric nurse, and I know how much a hug means to a child. I spent half of my professional life in a school setting with elementary aged children who were starving for hugs and that was my medicine for them! I so know where she is with the hug thing!!!! and we are all joined in some fashion, isn't that just like God to make connections for us to each other!
    ok, came over from 5 minute friday!
    http://wordsfromthehomefront.blogspot.com

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  2. I feel like this was meant to be! First off, I am also here from Five Minute Friday, but second, I have a daughter with severe medical issues. She had a heart transplant at 4 months old, another open heart surgery in May and just had her tonsils and adenoids out on Friday. I have come to know so many pediatric nurses and they are all angels in my and my daughter's lives! Bless you for fostering that care and compassion in your child and bless you Nancy for having that care and compassion! We would, literally, not be a family without those like you and yours! So, thanks! :)

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  3. Sue, Thanks for your sweet comments. I'll be sure to pass this along to Vanessa.

    Remember, as you go through these difficult times that God is at work weaving the beautiful tapestry that is your life; a tapestry that we see from underneath with its knots and crisscross threads...but which he sees from above as a finished work of art.

    ~Blessings to you ~

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  4. This is a very sweet essay! I love how you have started out by saying that you fell in love with your children all over again. That's awesome.

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  5. Oh my GOODNESS. That is the sweetest thing.. what beautiful words to cherish in your heart from a beautiful daughter. Love this!

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  6. What a beautiful post. My mother taught us all at home too, and apart from feeling like I received a great education, I have some wonderful memories.

    ReplyDelete

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