Don't Treat all Kids the Same
I'm always overwhelemed by the intimacy of Psalm 139.
God's intimate involvement in my life ministers to my heart with words like, "You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
The Lord knows everything about me. It's not just his knowledge of me or his presence with me but it's this picture of us going through it all together; it's this picture of him seeing me in a unique way as we live this life.
"O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways."
I thought about these verses and the Father's example the other day while playing with my son. Silas is two years younger than his sister, which means I had two years of playing with my daughter before he was ever born. That's two years of princesses, tea parties, dress up, and make believe ballets before we ever had one monster truck, football, or Batcave in our house.
But when my son was born, I didn't just play with him the same way I had always played with my daughter. I didn't just put some Minnie Mouse dolls in his bed and cherry flavored chapstick on his lips. He's different. He's unique, and he enjoys new things that my daughter never did.
Gracie loves dressing up like a princess. Silas wants to be Superman. Gracie picks flowers. Sy stomps 'em. Gracie is into gymnasics, while Sy prefers puzzles. Gracie has dolls, carriages, and castles, while my son's room is filled with superheros, cars, and pirate ships.
One of the many examples my Heavenly Father has given that I aim to emulate with my kids as their father, is the art of loving them intimately and uniquely, recognizing the beautiful differences that make them who they are.
They have their own senses of humor, their own desires, their own hurts, their own needs, their own personalities, their own strengths, their own challenges, their own favorites, their own purpose and calling from the One who created them.
So when I get on the floor to play, I want to be, not just involved, but aware of their distinctiveness. That means that when I get on the floor to play, I'll be wrestling with Silas while Gracie pretends that I'm her horse.
Jonathan Williams is the founder of Gospel Family Ministries and the Senior Pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church, a multi-ethnic church of 44 nations located in Houston, TX. He and his wife are blessed with two wonderful children.
