No, I'm not going to blog about Nate the Great, the detective....that silly little boy who loves to eat pancakes and solve crimes around his neighborhood. Instead this about my own Nate, my loves-to-make-me-laugh son who is about to turn seven. What a blessing he is to my life. For as much of a blessing as I consider him, he also frustrates the dickens out of me and takes me to my knees more than my other two children. Granted, he's only seven.
My other two are girls: Darby, who's nine (and a half) has always been the compliant and submissive type. From the time that she was just a baby, I could take her anywhere and she was pleasant and quiet. She has a spirit of being content most all the time. She and I have the same love language, so she's easy for me to figure out, I suppose. (She's not yet hit the teenage years, so I'll be careful to say that I probably don't have her COMPLETELY figured out....just doing ok for the time being.) Camryn is my youngest; she's about to turn four. She is fairly easy to discipline, as well. Besides being the baby, she loves learning from her older two siblings and looks to them to take care of her and teach her.
Now back to Nate..... Since being in the womb, he's had an adventurous spirit and is 110% all boy. He kicked me harder than the other two from 20 weeks on! He wanted to come into the world and get things started for himself at 28 weeks. I was forced to bedrest at that time and spent the next six weeks praying for him to stay put for a little longer. He came into the world at 36 weeks, full of life and energy and ear infections. Since that time, I've expected him to conform nicely to our little world. I've wanted him to keep his room neat and tidy like the girls. I've wanted him to be nice and kind and humble to others as he plays. I've wanted him to have the discipline of doing the right thing even though I'm not watching him. Instead, his clothes repeatedly remain all over his room, he thrives on winning and being the best at every sport he plays, and he's usually climbing the walls when I'm not looking instead of diligently getting his math finished. My ideas of certain areas of conformity are not coming to fruition!
On the flip-side, he's also my most sensitive of the three. Loss affects him more greatly. Friends and certain relationships are of utmost importance. He loves the Lord with vigor and is truly remorseful when he realizes he's sinned against God....not just me. Again, he's just seven. He lives life to the fullest....as long as his mom lets him and doesn't tell him to "settle down." Just being honest.
Just last week our co-op had a Valentine's Day party, and one of the games we played was musical chairs to love songs. Out of 15 or so kids, of which he is the youngest, he was the winner. Even at musical chairs he's competitive. When the game was over and he was declared the winner, he ran around the gym, the rest of the boys following him, in several victory laps.....all the while holding up his index finger as if to say, "I'm number one! Boys rule!" Needless to say, I was immediately thinking that a character lesson on humility needed to follow when we got home. :))
The week of Valentine's Day the Lord graciously taught me a lesson through Nate.... I had decided to write my husband and each of the three children a love note each day of the week leading up to Thursday. I thought everyone would embrace the mushy idea and relish in the lovely things I said to each of them. Nate, however, was the only one that seemed truly appreciative, and by the end of the week he was writing ME notes. He's even continued through this week. He keeps the notes I've written him in special places and reads them often. He has cherished them. His attitude since this has been amazing. I've learned his love language! He needs my words of affirmation. No matter how confident he seems, no matter how full of life - he still needs to be affirmed. Truthfully, I've probably spent more time asking him to pick up his room and put his shoes in the "shoe basket" than I have making sure he knows how special I think he is. While thinking that I'm teaching him valuable life lessons and organizational skills, I've missed some of the point of God giving him to me.
I've prayed my heart out over him, for him to be the kind, generous, and respectful little boy that I envision. I see many of those prayers being answered. I joke and say that God gave me Nate to keep me humbled myself. If it weren't for him, I would probably think this parenting thing is pretty easy. Through the many prayers that I've offered up for him, I sense God changing Nate's mom, too. I've specifically asked God to help me understand him and meet his needs. In doing so, I've embraced a fuller way of life. I'm learning to laugh more at Nate and his funnies. I'm learning that God may have a special job in store for Nate that requires his love for competition and adventure. If I squelch that, I may step in the way of God's plan. I'm still seeking God to work on selfishness and diligence and other qualities in Nate that I know are His will....but I'm asking Him to work on those things in me, as well.
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