Grounded in Grace

It is hard to wrap my mind around the fact that we just celebrated my baby boys 15th birthday.  It seems like yesterday I was beaming with joy to find I was expecting my second child.  Not only was I elated to be pregnant again, I was having another BOY!  You see my first experience with motherhood was pretty close to textbook perfect.  I had somewhat convinced myself that God  placed me on the earth to mother children. I truly believed I had this mommy thing completely figured out.  I can remember going out for playdates & lunch dates with friends and  thinking…”Thank goodness my child does not act like theirs” or “Wow, I sure do have  a good baby!”…I would even go as far to think “I am the BEST mom EVER!”.  It did not take me long to realize after my 2nd bundle of joy made his presence into the world that it had absolutely NOTHING to do with me.

From day one of reasoning, my oldest child was a pleaser.  He was quiet and shy and did not want to disappoint anyone therefore he did just as he was told.  There was a system that began in  preschool and was carried over into elementary school that involved “clips”. If your behavior was good, your clip stayed on green.  If you were given a warning, you were moved to yellow and if you crossed the line and needed additional discipline, you were moved to red.  I will never forget the day my first borns kindergarten  teacher  called me to  apologize because  she had to move his clip to yellow (not even red).  He was so upset, he almost made himself physically sick over it.  That was the first and last time in 12 years of school the child EVER had a discipline problem in the classroom.  Now, lets talk about the second born….From the early days of church preschool we were generally parked on RED!!!     From climbing under bathroom stalls and locking all the doors and climbing back out, to totally blowing the old saying, “you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose but you can’t pick your friends nose”…because YES we went to RED for that one too.  We often found ourselves using bribing tactics to keep him on any color other than red and on numerous occasions we even celebrated yellow.

Many times I questioned how two people could produce two children from the same genetic make up that could be so polar opposite!!!! I came to the realization in the verse Jeremiah 1:5 that states “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” I realized that HE created us all to be unique.  HE knew what our strengths and weaknesses would be even before we were born.  HE knew what our abilities and our limitations would be. The bible tells us in Matthew 10:30, HE even knows the numbers of hairs on our heads. (Which totally amazes me, especially with as many as I have) God obviously knew what He was doing when HE created us to be different.  How boring would this world be if we were all created the same.  What if there was only vanilla and no chocolate.  I am blessed beyond measure when I think about my vanilla and chocolate and I would not change a single thing about the way God designed and wired each of my boys.

We are all created unique and special. God is the potter and we are the clay. He made us all perfect by having our own uniqueness. Some of us have blue eyes, some have  brown, some of us can do this and some can do that, some are right handed and some are left handed. Laying all our differences aside,  we are all made for a purpose. God has a plan for each and everyone of us.  We are all  individual members of the body of Christ. We are a masterpiece and as we grow more and more as a Christians we will truly see how special and unique God is and how unique HE created us.

So another milestone has been reached and my baby is now 15. Fortunately God has formed him into  a smart, responsible and kind young man whom I no longer have to worry about what color his clip will land on.  We are on to bigger issues with the colors red, yellow and green which now involve an automobile. After the birthday festivities were over and we returned home, my oldest son loaded  the last of his belonging into his pickup truck and drove away to start his life in Saint Augustine Beach,  Florida.  Needless to say my heart was a little heavy when I finally sat down last night.  As one is entering a new phase of life with the responsibility of  learning to drive the other is entering a new phase of life with the responsibility of life on his own.  I know that Gods hand is upon both of them and I  call upon my “go to” verse….Philippians 4:6-7 and My God will be there with arms open wide to give me the peace and comfort I require and remind me I don’t have to worry or be anxious about any of it.  He has it all under control.  HE created them both to be unique.  They are  HIS special treasure, selected by HIM and for HIM. They are created in the image of our Almighty God. HE made them exactly the way HE intended, and HE equipped me with everything I need and the strength to stand strong in the midst of all situations, and the wisdom I need to be their mom.