Helping Our Children to Follow God's Plan for Their Lives
Being a parent isn't easy. You don't get a "How-to" manual when your baby is born to provide instructions on how to turn out the best person possible. It's mostly trial-and-error. The best things we can do is draw on God's love and pray for God's guidance and ask advice of other parents.
Recognizing our children's gifts can be challenging. When our babies are born, we have dreams for them. We dream of who they will become and what they will accomplish. As our children learn and grow, however, we may have to let go of our dreams and accept their dreams. Recognizing and nurturing our children's natural, God-given abilities is one of the best gifts we can give our children. This may involve great sacrifice. The sacrifice comes in letting go of our own wishes as well as in providing for the development of their talents. Paying for lessons is a financial sacrifice we parents make, as well.
When our kids are young - toddlers, preschoolers, and in early elementary - how do we decide which activities that our kids should participate in? Do we enroll them in dance or soccer? What about music lessons? It is important that we pay attention to our children's interests and abilities, even from birth. What draws their attention? What do they play with? What do they do while they're playing? By paying attention to our children's interests and abilities, we can learn what they might be good at and enjoy doing. Then we can cultivate the development of those talents by allowing them to participate in parallel activities.
We also need to continually remind our children that God loves them and gives them unique abilities to live as God created them to live. Giving thanks to God for their talents and abilities will help them to appreciate God's gifts in their lives. As they recognize their God-given abilities and give thanks for them, we must encourage them to serve God by using those abilities to the fullest extent and in the best way possible. By becoming the person God created them to be, not only will they be serving God, but they will also experience true and satisfying joy.
How are you nurturing your children's natural, God-given talents and abilities?
Recognizing our children's gifts can be challenging. When our babies are born, we have dreams for them. We dream of who they will become and what they will accomplish. As our children learn and grow, however, we may have to let go of our dreams and accept their dreams. Recognizing and nurturing our children's natural, God-given abilities is one of the best gifts we can give our children. This may involve great sacrifice. The sacrifice comes in letting go of our own wishes as well as in providing for the development of their talents. Paying for lessons is a financial sacrifice we parents make, as well.
When our kids are young - toddlers, preschoolers, and in early elementary - how do we decide which activities that our kids should participate in? Do we enroll them in dance or soccer? What about music lessons? It is important that we pay attention to our children's interests and abilities, even from birth. What draws their attention? What do they play with? What do they do while they're playing? By paying attention to our children's interests and abilities, we can learn what they might be good at and enjoy doing. Then we can cultivate the development of those talents by allowing them to participate in parallel activities.
We also need to continually remind our children that God loves them and gives them unique abilities to live as God created them to live. Giving thanks to God for their talents and abilities will help them to appreciate God's gifts in their lives. As they recognize their God-given abilities and give thanks for them, we must encourage them to serve God by using those abilities to the fullest extent and in the best way possible. By becoming the person God created them to be, not only will they be serving God, but they will also experience true and satisfying joy.
How are you nurturing your children's natural, God-given talents and abilities?
