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APRIL 2003 - GOD MADE ME THAT WAY When my daughter, Jill, was about 2-3 years old, she would hear people tell her all the time how cute she was, how adorable, how beautiful, what pretty eyes she had, what adorable curls…….you get the idea. Now all of it was totally true but I really did not want to see her get a big head or to think she had anything to do with it. Yes, I dressed her in cute lacey dresses and put colorful bows in her hair, but I also realized that there was something that neither her nor I could really take credit for. I taught her to respond with "Thank you, God made me that way." She did it with a smile on her face and meant it. It was a reminder to us that her physical looks were a gift from God. At about 5 years old, Jill went from a tomboy, rowdy little girl who seemed to show no compassion for others (yes, it is true!) to a little girl with a very spiritually sensitive heart. She all of a sudden began talking about God in a personal way. She showed amazing love and compassion for others that had not been there before. She told us that she accepted Christ as her Savior and that she wanted to go live with him in Heaven. (As a side note, that used to scare the dickens out of me as I wondered if she had some insight that I didn't know and was preparing me for her death!) Yes, we took Jill to Sunday School and we talked to her of Jesus and His love for her and we read her bible stories. But, there was then and there still is now (9 years later), a spiritual maturity and sensitivity to God's Presence in her life that is beyond something that we as parents or even she can totally take credit for. We are reminded daily that her relationship with the Lord is a gift from God. Jill is now almost 15 yrs old. We homeschool and she is in 9th grade. Jill has been a joy to watch in her approach to life and school in that she has a thirst for knowledge and the wisdom to apply it. Jill had a great opportunity in 2nd grade (public school at that time) to have a teacher who encouraged and gently pushed Jill to set higher goals and go for them. After an application process, Jill took a class in Egyptology in 3rd grade. At the time I had no idea what an impact this would have in Jill's life as she grew up. Jill also started getting interested in mysteries and read every book she could find in the "Encyclopedia Brown" series. In 3rd grade, Jill also had a male teacher who, though he wasn't my favorite, really helped Jill develop an outlet for drama, humor and the lighter side of life. That now means so much to me as I watch my normally on the "more serious sided" daughter let down and be funny. (Her dad also adds a lot to her funny and dramatic side!) Jill went through the wanting to be a professional basketball player to the dramatic actress. She has had the opportunity to play some serious basketball and take on amazing roles in some plays but I think the days of wanting to go professional in either are long past. Over the last 5 years that we have homeschooled, there have been many times when I wondered "What is my daughter going to do when she grows up? What will she do to earn money, have a career and support herself? What if I don't teach her all that she needs to know? What if we fail her????" I have watched to see what she is naturally good at and math and a love for chemistry keep coming back. (Jill would memorize the Periodic Table of Elements "just for fun" and ask us to quiz her on those and math problems "just for fun"!) These are areas that we have never pushed on her and to be honest, she has totally excelled in apart from anything we have done. Jill's other fascination has continued to be anything that has to do with Egyptology. She watches every show she can on cable tv about mummy's, King Tut or other related topics. She even watches "The Mummy Road Show"! Her room is covered with posters of hieroglyphics and pyramids and she spends her hard earned money on expensive books about Egyptology. Can you guess her favorite movies?? "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns" Hmmmm………math, chemistry, Egyptology....whatever is my daughter going to do? One of my frustrations with Jill is her SLOWNESS and perfectionism in all that she does. Jill can be so methodical and detailed that it takes her 10 times as long to get anything done. Cleaning her bathroom, washing the dishes or doing her homework are major projects! When she is done, it is done right but it just takes so long. I have many times been heard saying "Jill, hurry up! It doesn't have to be that detailed!" (Totally opposite from what I say to my 3 younger sons!) Just this last year, my husband and I started watching the tv show "CSI", which stands for Crime Scene Investigation. Except for a few shows that had too much sexual content, we have let Jill watch also. She has been mesmerized by the lab work and certain jobs that some of the characters do to solve the mysteries. She is fascinated by it………but still I hadn't made any connections. This year,
Jill has taken a biology class and for her science fair project she
is dissecting owl pellets from different regions in the US and Canada.
She has spent hours and hours and hours dissecting every bone, fur and
unknown item contained in each pellet. We got extras for the boys to
do but they only lasted between 5-30 minutes before they were bored.
One day, Jill spent 10-12 hours working on just one! Her eyes had a
sparkle and her voice was filled with excitement as she explained about
a skull size or her theory as to why there were so many little ones
along side a bigger one. It all of a sudden started making sense. My
daughter has an inborn desire to do detail work, has a very long attention
span and loves figuring out and solving mysteries. We saw a news show
about our Seattle Crime Scene Laboratory expanding and that was it!
Jill decided "just like that" that she was interested in forensics
or something in that line of work!! Wow! In a flash of a moment, we
saw how everything that Jill had been exposed to and had an opportunity
to experience, along with her God given personality and interests and
abilities were all coming together. Yes, we had encouraged her and gave
her the opportunities to play basketball and do drama when she showed
an interest. Yes, we had let her watch tv shows and buy books that she
was fascinated with. Yes, I am now sitting at the computer with her
looking up Running Start and college classes, along with potential jobs
in that line of work that she can start making plans for. Yes, many
people have impacted her life in ways that only now make sense and we
can look back on and be so grateful for. I one day see Jill married
and raising her own children and I see how God has even worked in preparing
her for that time of her life by giving her 3 younger brothers to learn
to love and care for. "What
you are is God's gift to you; what you become is your gift to God." |
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 Teach your children essential tools for life. Heidi's husband Nick is the author of this educational workbook for children. |
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If you want to help instill values, virtues and character in your child then check out this out! |
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