Car talk. On becoming.
That's where Gracie has her deep thoughts.
It's where I get the privilege of hearing the inner musings of her heart and soul. And when I say privilege, I mean it. As she gets older, I don't always get the candidness that I did when she was younger. Being privy to her inmost thoughts is a window into her spiritual life.
We were talking about adoration and imitation that happens in friendship.
V: This relationship is similar to you and your cousin. She wants to BE you!
(I said this tongue and cheek, I generally speak in hyperbole)
G: Wait, isn't it a sin to want to be someone else. You need to be who God wants you to be not someone else.
Mic drop.
***
So much of life is spent searching for meaning. So much of parenting is helping our children become who they are called to be.
Who are they called to be?
This is an easy question to get all uptight about. I can feel the anxiety mounting. She needs to be successful, she needs to be able to afford to live, she needs to get a good job, she needs to be happy with her choices.
My child has a calling. I have no idea what that calling is. My vocation is to ensure that she knows she has been dedicated as a Child of God. That means that sometimes my love for her needs to be ferocious - my child is precious child of God and no one will compromise that. Sometimes it means I need to be ferocious with her, you are a precious child of God and that behavior does not mirror your giftedness.
Sometimes, most of the time, it's patience and gentleness that are needed as I watch the Child of God that is Gracie unfold.
***
As parents our job is create fertile soil in our children so that they can grow into who God is calling them to be - so that they can, as Catherine of Siena put it, be who God called them to be to be so they can set the world on fire!
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