Building Character

Building character in children is such an important aspect of parenting. Each and every day and through all of our actions, we are building character. The other morning, I felt like I really did not do well on this front. I am not sure if it is the end of the year stresses or what it has been but my patience was definitely not what it should have been as we were heading out the door. Those of you with children know how challenging this can be. But, despite my shortfall, I am so blessed for God's grace and the grace my children offered me as I apologized to them for not being as patient as I wanted to be. Thank God for GRACE. As a teacher, we use teachable moments with our students and as a parent, we can also use those teachable moments and I felt like this was one of them. My children are not perfect. None of us are perfect. But I am so proud of the character that I see developing in them. We attended a Fundraising Balloon Release for a family in our school. The Clark family has an amazing story to tell. They recently lost their daughter Piper to Alper's Syndrome. This is the second child they have lost to this disease. They lost a son, Drew, to this same disease a few years ago. It has been a difficult journey for their family and for their son Peyton who attends Grade One at our school. And yet through it all, I have been amazed at their strength and the testimony of faith they have shown to others. During their difficult time, our family was praying for them. And Jaret and Kirra, prayed each and everyday, and then some. Their prayers are so simple and yet so powerful and they feel so much for each person they pray for that many times it brings me to tears. So, even though they did not know Piper and have only seen Peyton on the playground, they continue to pray for this family and they were more than happy to attend this fundraiser. Jaret has such a soft heart, full of compassion, and he was excited to let the balloons go so they could go all the way up to Piper in heaven. And then he told me later that after every birthday he has, he wants to let balloons go so that Piper will get those balloons too. This compassion that I see from them is not much different than the compassion and faith they showed as they prayed for Hope and her family and how they are praying for our friends in Australia. We met Tim and Lara in 2000 when we moved to Hong Kong for a year. The friendship that was forged is strong and despite the years and the distance, we still remain close. Last month, we heard devastating news that their son Matthew has been diagnosed with leukemia. When we visited Australia at Christmas 2004, we met Matthew (known to us as Matty-Boom-Ba). He was just a baby then and now is so grown up. A boy after Jaret's own heart; he loves playing with lego. I look forward to the day when Jaret and Kirra can meet their "Aussie cousins." And despite Jaret and Kirra not knowing our "Aussie family," that hasn't stopped them from being diligent in praying for them. We continue to pray for them and for complete healing for Matty as he undergoes his chemo treatments and his body fights the cancer. Before Jaret was born, I had a dream that led me to believe he might be a girl. There was a scene in that dream where Tim and Lara's kids were on the beach playing with our little girl. But then a few weeks later, I had that exact same dream but with our little boy in the distance playing with Lockie (Tim and Lara's oldest son who was two when we left Hong Kong). So, we pray that one day, that dream of all of our kids playing on the beach will be a reality. We will continue to pray for Matty and for the rest of the Francis family - Tim, Lara, Lachlan, Jake, and Abby. Would appreciate if those of you reading this blog post would also join us in prayer for the Francis Family. Prayer is so powerful! I am so grateful for my children and their hearts that overflow with love for others. They are caring and full of compassion. I pray that I will continue to be the mom that they need and that I can continue to help develop and build their character.