My sweet Z...

My oldest son was just about born running. As an infant he didn't sleep like most babies, I cannot tell you how many times I thought to myself "Shouldn't he want to sleep more?!". At few months old it was evident that he didn't like to remain in one location for long, he didn't fuss to be held all the time but he sure liked a change of scenery every 30 mins. By six months he was army crawling everywhere, and I mean everywhere, and he never held still for long. It goes without saying that it was obvious from early on he was high strung.

As he has gotten older the spastic energy and tendancy for the dramatic can exhaust me. Not much is ever done half way with him, he is all or nothing. If something does not go his way it is (quite literally:) the end of his little world. He is often very loud, not intentionally, his tendency to do things all the way applies to his volume as well. When we go out to in public it is all I can do to keep him to maintain some order of calm and not bounce off of everything in sight. I'm certain there are people that look at me and think "can't she keep him under control?". It can wear me out, I'll be honest.

I don't tell you all of this to complain about my beautiful little man. All kids have quirks, those are just a few of his. The truth is, this same

flair for the dramatic also makes him very sensitive, intuitive, sweet and very, VERY loving. As I said, nothing is ever half-way with him and this applies to it all; love, life, play and everything in between. I cannot tell you how many times a day he hugs me and tells me he loves me. He often will yell "mom, mom, MOM! I love you!!" or my very favorite, "Mom, I pretty love you". Melts my heart.

You see, although this "all or nothing" attitude of his can be trying I am learning to appreciate

it anyway. I know that God made Him this way, not to punish me :), but to better use him. Already Isaiah has shown an incredible sensitivity to the Lord and I believe he has even heard Him speak inside his sweet little heart. For instance, one gorgeous summer day, a few days before we had a camping trip planned, we stepped outside to go somewhere and he said "wow mommy, it's a beautiful day!". I told him it was and that we needed to ask Jesus if He could help make it nice for us while we were camping. He said "ok", then paused for a moment looking reflective. Suddenly he got a big smile on his face and said "Mommy, did you hear what Jesus said?!?. When I told him I had not, he looked up at me and very excitedly said "He said YES!!". I know that may not sound like much to some of you but you know what? That weekend held some of the most gorgeous days I have ever experienced in Homer, ever. That is not the only time where I believe (know) Isaiah heard from the Lord. On another occasion he reminded me of something I had felt the Lord wanted me to do but had not quite finished the task. He woke up that morning, walked right up to me and delivered my reminder from the Lord. I was totally speechless, there was no way he could have known about the task, it had to have come from the Lord.

I share these beautiful, and sometimes nerve wracking truths about my son to say this... Sometimes our kids do things that make us crazy, quite literally, as I said all kids have their quirks. These things are often the shenanigans they perform daily (or almost daily) and wear on our very last nerve. They are what we, as adults, refer to as "personality flaws" in ourselves and each other. What I challenge each one of you who are parents (myself included) out there to do is take a little time to see the positive side to the particular behavior that can make you crazy. See if there is another perspective to take on the behavior. I know not all things do have another side, but sometimes the thing that makes our kids hard to deal with is also a part of their personality that makes them unique. God does not create "personality flaws", we are who we are for a reason, as are our children. Our children have a purpose and a destiny in this world, they are created for it specifically. It is our job as parents to teach them how better to use these traits, to help convert them into constructive behaviors. How very incredible to think about that and very daunting! I can sometimes be overwhelmed with the thought that I am moulding future grown-ups. It is, however, a task I truly enjoy. My hope is that with a little insight, a lot of patience and endless love, I can help them to become the great men they were intended to be.