Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Transformers

No, I'm not talking about the popular vehicles-turned-robots from another world whose sole purpose is to establish peace...although we have plenty of them lying around the house...
 
I'm talking about my kids.
 
It never ceases to amaze me how different my kids can seem from one day to the next.  They change constantly.  They transform.  It's such a bittersweet (and sometimes frustrating) but beautiful thing to see!
 
They're my little transformers.  But I don't get to twist them here, bend them there, and change them into something new!
 
I do have a major influence on their development, but they are their own little persons.  They change.  They learn.  They grow.  (And if anyone is getting twisted and bent into something new, it's me, not them!)
 
I get to help shape them, but regardless of what I say or do, a part of them will keep changing and transforming all on its own - and I pray it's according to God's will for them.
 
God made each of my kids unique, and He made them just as He wanted them to be.
 
He also made plans for them (Jeremiah 29:11).  So just like a toy transformer starts out as one thing and then converts to another, I believe God had a specific transformation in mind for each of my children when He first thought of them.
 
But let's point out that transformers are not shape-shifters.  They don't turn into anything they want.  They don't morph into something entirely different from what they started as.
 
Every single piece of them moves and shifts and rearranges into something new, but all the original parts are still there.
 
I believe my first job as their mom is to love and embrace each and every one of their "parts."  My second job is to then teach them to love and embrace all that they are.  Then we seek God's will and let the transformation begin!
 
As any parent would, I hope and pray I get to see my kids transform according to God's plan.  I want to know they've become what God planned for them to be.  But I know it's probably not going to be that simple.
 
Their transformations probably won't be seamless.  Sometimes it takes a few tries and a few wrong moves to figure out how to transform that vehicle into its robot counterpart.  And sometimes it's confusing and frustrating and the transformer is left in an awkward inbetween state.
 
I'm pretty sure I've been in that awkward inbetween state for a long time!  And maybe everyone else is too.  Maybe life here on Earth is one long awkward inbetween state and we're not fully transformed until the end of our days.
 
In that case, the important thing is to recognize God has a plan for us.  And even if we can't recognize exactly what that plan is, we must have faith and allow God to slowly transform us, one piece at a time.  
 
The alternative is to end up as an unrecognizable jumbled up mess, stuck somewhere in the middle, and I know I don't want that for myself or my kids!
 
And just as it's a beautiful thing to see our little ones constantly changing and growing before our eyes, God must love to see our progress, not matter how imperfect it is.
 
And as parents, let's remember that God's plan for our children is more important than ours.  Let us fully enjoy every little change we see in our kids, all while encouraging them to seek God's will and to let God transform them.  Let us pray to God that our plans for our children never get in the way of His.  And let us not forget that we're also still a work in progress!
 
 


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