Raising a Child

Raising a child isn't as simple as it is to be said. Abundant theories about how to nurture your little prescious kids in the end lays upon the abundant varieties of circumstances and each player's characters.
One thing for sure, I'm more than grateful to have my one Ultimate Role Model -- The Father -- for giving me a perfect example and showing me the basics of parenting rule : LOVE & PATIENCE. But really, though being mentioned so very often everytime everywhere, these two words are in it's nature highly difficult to be done!
Actually PATIENCE is one among all other qualities of LOVE, but specifically speaking about dealing with your little child in daily life, PATIENCE has to had more emphasis among others. I don't know about dealing with older kids or even teenagers -- there are theories but none experienced yet -- but I know what I'm talking about and I understand it well how LOVE & PATIENCE applies when nurturing a baby. A baby can't be told to do something, and you can't reason with him/her also. All you can do is to fill your heart abundantly with LOVE and PATIENTLY find a creative way to tell your baby something. Without LOVE & PATIENCE, you'll just end up in hurting your baby and yourself in your attemp to teach your baby. And finally it's not goodness and virtue that your baby learn, but rudeness and the seed of violence.
I'm not saying this because I'm a perfect mommy, instead I've been falling into this pulpit several times. I've been tempted to yell to my kids instead of patiently telling him/her what he/she needs to know or learn. But thank You my dear Father for lifting me up over and over again whenever I'm so low, being felt as such a bad mother after surrendering to such temptation. Thank God for being there for me and reminding over and over again about HIS PERFECT LOVE as my Heavenly Father that has patiently teaching me whenever I sinned against Him.
These things that my Father has taught me,and the ones that I've always been trying to keep in mind within every circumstances I'm in with my precious jewels Chrysolite and Chrysopras :

1. Every single person is made by, and for God, thus every single soul belongs to God.
My little Abby and El belongs to God? What a thought! They're not belong to me to be taught according to my will, but in a way she'll be taught by the very hands of God Himself. So no matter how hard I try to mold them to bend to my will, in the end whether they like it or not, they'll go God's way. They'll learn their private lesson from God in person. My part is to tell them God's truth, to show them example, and God Himself will open their heart and mind to make them understand the truth.

2. God had a specific and special plan for every single person.
Since every single person belongs to God, so when HE created one, HE must have a highly specific plan for each and every one of us. When our baby learn to interact with the world, we have to learn to willingly let the world teach them through experiences, by remembering that nothing happens out of the control of God predestinence. When we trust Him, we shall trust that in every single experience the kids have during their interaction with their surrounding neighbourhood He had planned it well for our good and for His glory. Our part as parents is to give the best protection we can give, and give the right direction according to the kids' talents and interests, and let God do His plans for our kids.

3. Don't put big expectation on human, instead put big trust only in God.
By putting our biggest expectation in God's providence, we'll have firm confidence that God really had a special plan for every single person. So when your baby fail your expectation in one way or another, you won't be over worried, because one thing for sure: God never fails!

Praise the Lord!
Bless my kids Lord. Bless me and my husband with so much love so we can pass it to our children. Surely, nothing stronger than LOVE.


Written in Saiti, 20-07-2006
Updated in Palu, 20-06-2010

Dia menemukanku

Malam itu aku bertemu Tuhan
(Ah...., Dia menemukanku, si domba bodoh yang mencari jalan sendiri...)
Dia menemukanku, terpuruk dalam kegelapan
SenyumNya memancarkan penerimaan
"Mari sini, kau yang terluka penuh jejas"
Tak sanggup aku menatap muliaNya
hingga saat
Ia memelukku
dengan tubuh yang hancur penuh bilur
"Aku kenal setiap retak dan robek di hatimu"
"Untuk itulah tubuhku menanggung dera dan pilu"
Sejuta kata takkan sanggup mendeskripsikan indahnya pertemuan itu 
dan luapan syukur yang memancar dari hatiku
Malam itu aku bertemu Tuhan
Ia meneguhkan hatiku yang retak dihantam berbagai peristiwa dan tanya
Dan atas jawabNya aku meminta
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merasakan Kasih yang Sempurna dan jatuh cinta denganNya
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Amin, Bapa
Terimalah Abigail dan Elijah
jadi milikMu semata

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mencariMU

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di sanakah Engkau, Kekasihku?
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dalam amarah bumi yang menggoncang harapanku?

dan dalam goyahku Kau membelaiku
lembut dalam semilir yang sendu
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tak pernah lepas memelukmu"

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