Posted in Theology
This week, I have been thinking about family make-up, and how it affects children. I have come to realize that we can't give our children every experience, and partially we don't have a choice anyway. I am very glad to have four girls (one not born), but on the flip side, I think that my daughters are missing out on having a brother. A few examples: I have friends that have mixed gender families, and they are starting to have to worry about privacy issues such as bath, bedrooms, sleeping arrangements. I am glad I don't have to worry about these issues yet. But I grew up in an all girl family, and getting married gave me a lot of shocks. I just didn't realize a lot about men. I don't know that this would have been completely diffferent had I had brothers, but just an observation. Family size is another thing. I would love to be able to give all of my girls one-on-one attention for 4 hours a day, which I could do if they were only children, but I also want playmates for them, not to mention that they are all so precious I don't know what I would do without ALL of them.
I guess is what I am saying is that it is impossible to give our children every experience that would be helpful to the development of their worldview and character. So I am realizing how important it is to teach them about gleaning wisdom from others who's situation is different from their own, and trying to put themselves in others shoes. One situation is not better than another but different, and I need to trust that the Lord will give us the means to provide the experiences for our children that they need, and that He will help us gain wisdom from others experiences.
