Being Who You Are
Article by Luanne Allen
Being a parent is a scary endeavor, at least for me. God blesses you with these tiny little miracles and, without a lot of instruction, you’re suddenly responsible for everything – feeding them, bathing them, changing their diapers, teaching them. It would be a lot more comforting if they came with an owner’s manual. I’m just saying…
Just like the rest of us, each child is gifted with special talents and gifts from God. One thing that Justin and I continually work to do is to call out those gifts in Madelyn and Seth. Even at a young age, you can see where their strengths are and what their personality draws them towards. Those things should be encouraged. It builds their confidence, it shows them how they are wired and directs them towards God’s purpose for their life.
A few weeks ago, Madelyn was taking swimming lessons with my cousin, Miss Lena, and she had a blast. She was already in the “I’m bored of being home for summer break” phase and getting to go swim with other kids each evening was a major source of entertainment. The great joy of Madelyn’s swim lessons was learning to jump off the diving board. At 4 she is fearless and thinks it is amazing fun. Granted, she goes off the diving board with a life jacket on, but even that will change soon as she gets more confidence in her swimming. On the last lesson, she had gotten used to hanging out and playing with the kids in her class. She swam that night with two sisters, one a couple of years older than the other. As siblings tend to be, they were pretty competitive and constantly picking at each other. Towards the end of the lesson, the older sister was picking at the younger sister like only a sister can. “You’re just a baby, and babies don’t go off the diving board. You’re too little and you can’t swim.”
Madelyn was right there when the conversation ensued. She turned to the little sister and said, “Are you going to let her get away with that? You are not a baby, and you can go off the diving board if you want to. I’ll go with you if you want.” And out of the pool Madelyn and the younger sister came, and carefully walked (Miss Lena was so proud they didn’t run!) down to the diving board. The little sister went out to the end of the board as Miss Lena swam down to that end of the pool to be close by. The older sister watched from behind Miss Lena. And Madelyn was giving her instruction, as she loves to do… “put your toes out on the edge of the board and jump straight out.” And there she went – off the diving board for the first time. We all cheered. Miss Lena let her swim to the ladder, but was right there in case she was needed. As she climbed out, she turned to her sister and said, “I’m not a baby!”
I think I saw one of Madelyn’s giftings in action. (I prefer “giftings” to the phrase “character trait” or “personality trait”. Giftings are from God, you know.) She is an encourager, and Lord knows, we need more encouragers in this world. She was just being who she was, being what God made her to be. And God used her to encourage another little girl. I love how He does that.
Luanne Allen is a member of Christ the Redeemer, Canton and regular contributer to the Diocese of the Mid-South news site.
