Saturday, January 4, 2014

Cherishing Our Differences


You weren’t an accident. You weren’t mass produced. You aren’t an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the earth by the Master Craftsman. ~Max Lucado



I had a girls day out planned with my daughters. It's seldom just the three of us, but it was the one "party" I wanted to have during Emily's university break. Melanie had a babysitter scheduled and the time was set. 

The trouble was -- the snow didn't get the memo! The air was bitter cold and it snowed and snowed. But that didn't stop us.  We just changed the destination and stayed in Muncie. There was no wait for a table at Olive Garden -- and sister chatter filled this momma's heart so full. 

My girls are so alike. And yet, they are so different. Melanie's creativity shows in her home and mothering. The bits and papers of scrapbooking drive her crazy, but she has every photograph in books, always up to date, with every event explained in writing. Melanie is like me in that she focuses on a task and gets it done quickly.

Emily is a lover of all things paper. This semester was project-driven and paper scraps floated on the air. Caldecott picture books were paired with teaching art projects, as well as projects for teaching the students under her care in this semester's practicum. Emily, like her father, can be easily distracted from a task, yet still gets things done in the end -- and accomplishes more in between the doing.

I treasure them both, celebrating their strengths individually. Reflecting on the fact there are ten years between them,  Emily was still playing with dolls when Melanie got married.  That decade is closing the gap as they age. Suddenly they are interested in the same things, raid each others' closets and swap hair products.

Genesis tells us about two brothers who were born to Lamech and Adah. Jabal was the first of those who raised livestock and lived in a tent. The other, Jubal, was the first to play the harp and flute. Their differences must have been celebrated for God to want them recorded.  


Like us -- sisters in Christ -- we are all so different in the eyes of God. Yet He celebrates us all!  One of us may love to clean, while another would rather cook. One leads, another offers behind-the-scenes prayers. One is a Martha, another a Mary. 


Peter's analogy of how how the church couldn't exist without our individual strengths encourages me. It's easy to wish we were one of our sisters.  But I believe God doesn't celebrate us when we try to be someone other than who He created us to be. This year I am going to try to be content to be me. Exactly who God intended me to be. To use the strengths to do more for Christ. It's my way of cherishing myself

There's going to be a lot of cherishing going on this year.



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14 comments:

Rebecca said...

What a lovely "cameo" of your two daughters. Glad you have the time together, Pamela.

Beth said...

Your daughters are beautiful as is your post!

Marilyn said...

Love this post. You have been greatly blessed.♥♫

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

I am so glad the snow did not keep you from a sweet time with your girls. Happy Mom.

Fondly,
Glenda

Elizabethd said...

It is often in our differences that we come together. A lovely post,

Lisa in Texas = ) said...

What a great post! Thanks for sharing, Lisa :O)

Lynda said...

Olive Garden - - - YUM! YUM! So glad you girls got to be together. We moms who have daughters who have become our friends are blessed indeed.

a joyful noise said...

Harmony even though each has their own personality. Thanks for a lovely post on sisters who love one another.

RicKaren said...

Beautifully said and I concur. My four daughters are all so alike and so different--I love them all differently and all the same.

Sharon said...

Pamela, I loved this heartwarming post. I have two sons, and I enjoy their similarities, and their differences. Sometimes they act like the same person, and other times it's like they were born in two separate families.

It is wonderful to know that God planned each and every one of us to be exactly who we are - with all the idiosyncrasies that make us so unique.

And what a beautiful Body of Christ has He created. So different, each part so purposeful and necessary.

Celebrating the uniqueness that is ME.

GOD BLESS!

(Ironically enough, I am posting something next week about these very same thoughts. God is speaking...)

Esther Joy said...

Sweet post, Pamela! My daughters are 14 years apart, with a son in between.

A nephew who is much like a son is undergoing brain surgery this evening, and I covet your prayers for him.

In His love,
Esther Joy

Renee said...

What a lovely story about your girls. Precious memories. Love your word too...cherish. There is so much to cherish in life starting with our children!

Anonymous said...

Blessings, Pamela! So nice to catch up with you and your lovely family. Sisters, indeed - such a great post of how we all eventually grow into kindred spirits though age and era may separate us. I often marvel at the landscape chances in relationships as years pass. I am enjoying becoming the friend to my daughter now that she is making her own nest with her dear husband and not quite my little girl anymore - but ever a precious daughter. Though - if you visit me and check out my last two posts - maybe they will always need their mama, after all.
Joy to you!
Kathy

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Pamela! Your girls are beautiful. I also enjoy being with both of my girls at the same time. Mine are only 19 months apart, and it is fun to identify which parts of them came from me, from their dad and what they have developed on their own.

Glad that you guys were still able to get together. What awful weather you guys were having.

Hugs,

Kathy M.