Seeing the Bright Spots in Our Children

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Before Ray and I had children, we spent a few days babysitting for some friends while they went out of town. They had two children–a well-behaved little girl and a rambunctious little boy. The mama told me that each night before she told him goodnight, she tried to think of one thing to compliment him on from the day. She gave me the impression that it was often a challenge to come up with that one thing.

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I didn’t play hide-and-seek on Saturday, but I did play seek. When Ray and I came home from an errand, I noticed our fading garden. I went inside and got some scissors and went snipping. I wanted to bring in one more bouquet before everything goes to sleep for the winter.

I’m glad to see everything going to sleep. It’s time. I find great comfort watching my plants wind down. That means that God is changing the seasons again. He is reminding us that we can count on Him.

All my snips came from plants planted years ago: a few snips of Russian sage, some oregano, a stalk from our giant aster Miss Delia shared with me, and a few roses from a hostess gift my high school friends gave me. Once inside I arranged them in a teapot Ray gave me many years ago. Here’s my bouquet from the front . . .

. . . and here’s the back.

The table is the one where my family ate all the years of my growing up. Mother earned the money to buy it while she was waiting for Daddy to get out of the Army and for me to be born.

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Looking out on our garden this morning, I can see the rocks that should be straightened, the stalks that need to be trimmed back before winter, and the spots of color that are still bright and pretty. Sometimes as homeschooling mamas, we are tempted to spend too much time pointing out the crooked rocks and ugly stalks in our children and not enough time noticing and complimenting the bright spots in their efforts and in their character.

I love how the apostle Paul began and ended his letters to churches. Often he had some crooked rocks and ugly stalks to point out to the Christians there, but he began and ended those letters with encouragement. Notice what he said to the Thessalonians in his second letter to them. He told them who they were in Christ and complimented them:

Paul and Silvanus and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians
in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren,
as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged,
and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater;
 therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God
for your perseverance and faith
in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4

We all love encouragement. We all love to hear what we have done right. As Paul told the Thessalonians in their first letter:

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another,
just as you also are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

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