That's a super sweet sister, playing a made up game with her brother to make him laugh.
Here are some of the MANY pictures Mimi has made for her brother at school:
(sorry they're sideways)
And Lightning McQueen and Mater
And if that weren't enough, today Mimi's friend's mom (who we carpool with) told me today that she overheard Mimi comforting her friend who was scared about strangers. "It's okay Charlotte. God will protect you!" And she proceeded to sing the entire chorus of "God is Bigger than the Boogie Man" to her. Beth said she was holding back tears (and laughter... ;)
Why the brag-fest about Mimi?
Because I need to remember all of these things. Because I can unintentionally be so hard on her. Because I'm often hard on me.
I've been reading a great book called Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. In it, there was a chapter about mothers and daughters. So many things struck me as I think about Mimi and myself.
This part in particular:
"The relationship between a mother and a daughter is a holy, tender, fierce thing fraught with land mines and umbilical cords that stretch and sometimes strangle...many a good woman makes the desperate mistake of believing that her daughter is a reflection of herself, an extension of herself, and therefore the verdict on her as a mother and a woman."
Bingo. That rang so so true. I don't outwardly think that, but I know that I act out of that exact thing. That Mimi is this reflection of me. That when she acts naughty or her hair is a mess or her room is a warzone...that it means that I'm failing. Instead of giving her room to be Mimi. To make her own mistakes. To grow into her own person. I think that sometimes I am aware of that and sometimes not. It's also hard when you're peppered to death by requests and demands and questions...let's face it. It's easy to be a perfect parent in a vacuum. Girls have a STRONG desire for relationships. And that can sometimes be strangling. Boys can be so much more simple. Exhausting, but simple (at times). But I want to be there for Mimi. I want her to feel seen and heard. I want to hide the fact that sometimes we're like putting two same ends of a magnet together. I need to watch that I'm not harder on her because her desperate needs or insecurities hit too close to home for me and therefore cause my hair to stand on end. I know echoes of her hurts and struggles because we are cut from the same mold. I pray that I would let that make us closer someday (and give grace for when that makes it hard as well.)
Sometimes I need to step back and truly see her. To get to know the girl that she is becoming as her own person, apart from me and celebrate that.
"Girls' hearts flourish in homes where they are seen and invited to become ever more themselves."
May that be said of our home. Peppered with grace for her and myself along the way.
Amen.
Here are some of the MANY pictures Mimi has made for her brother at school:
(sorry they're sideways)
That's Elmo playing basketball...
And if that weren't enough, today Mimi's friend's mom (who we carpool with) told me today that she overheard Mimi comforting her friend who was scared about strangers. "It's okay Charlotte. God will protect you!" And she proceeded to sing the entire chorus of "God is Bigger than the Boogie Man" to her. Beth said she was holding back tears (and laughter... ;)
Why the brag-fest about Mimi?
Because I need to remember all of these things. Because I can unintentionally be so hard on her. Because I'm often hard on me.
I've been reading a great book called Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. In it, there was a chapter about mothers and daughters. So many things struck me as I think about Mimi and myself.
This part in particular:
"The relationship between a mother and a daughter is a holy, tender, fierce thing fraught with land mines and umbilical cords that stretch and sometimes strangle...many a good woman makes the desperate mistake of believing that her daughter is a reflection of herself, an extension of herself, and therefore the verdict on her as a mother and a woman."
Bingo. That rang so so true. I don't outwardly think that, but I know that I act out of that exact thing. That Mimi is this reflection of me. That when she acts naughty or her hair is a mess or her room is a warzone...that it means that I'm failing. Instead of giving her room to be Mimi. To make her own mistakes. To grow into her own person. I think that sometimes I am aware of that and sometimes not. It's also hard when you're peppered to death by requests and demands and questions...let's face it. It's easy to be a perfect parent in a vacuum. Girls have a STRONG desire for relationships. And that can sometimes be strangling. Boys can be so much more simple. Exhausting, but simple (at times). But I want to be there for Mimi. I want her to feel seen and heard. I want to hide the fact that sometimes we're like putting two same ends of a magnet together. I need to watch that I'm not harder on her because her desperate needs or insecurities hit too close to home for me and therefore cause my hair to stand on end. I know echoes of her hurts and struggles because we are cut from the same mold. I pray that I would let that make us closer someday (and give grace for when that makes it hard as well.)
Sometimes I need to step back and truly see her. To get to know the girl that she is becoming as her own person, apart from me and celebrate that.
"Girls' hearts flourish in homes where they are seen and invited to become ever more themselves."
May that be said of our home. Peppered with grace for her and myself along the way.
Amen.
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