 |
| Luke & Joshua in a Beyblade race |
As I was taking my sheets off the bed this week, I found a pleasant surprise under my pillow case ~ two small white hearts with "love" written on it. As I asked who put them there, Joshua broke into a sweet, sly smile. He said, "I did it Mom!" He was so proud of himself and rightly so. That certainly made my day! And to think of the many nights I slept on top of those sweet words!
Joshua is preparing for his first communion. He made a blessing cup several weeks ago. He drew our family, a chalice and patten, a butterfly and a cross. We have been attending meditations each week at the Atrium. I have to say that I have learned a lot during this time. Joshua has been teaching me some things as well. Wow!!! Joshua truly has a deep love for God. I admire that so much!
 |
| Joshua kneading his bread at the First Communion retreat |
The other evening, Luke and I started watching Dumbo for our movie night. Daddy and Joshua were at a birthday party for one of Joshua's friends. Luke was so taken with the cute babies and how the babies were delivered by the stork! Luke loved how cute Dumbo was! Luke had difficulty understanding why they locked up Dumbo's mommy or why everyone would make fun of Dumbo's ears. After all, he could not help the size of them. Luke was very disturbed by this concept, and asked to stop the show. That is an unusual request for Luke. I told him how it would be a happy ending because everyone would find out how special Dumbo's ears really were, but after several protests, we finally turned it off. Luke truly has a sensitive heart and does not like it when people let their feelings hurt.
 |
| Joshua listening to Miss Barb at the retreat. |
Since you have been old enough to play with other children, I have tried to instill in you that all children/people are different and differences are good. Even as a teacher, I always taught my students that people can be alike and different. Differences are good, and can make life much more interesting. I have tried to remind you that every one of us is a son or daughter of God. God made each one of us special and unique in our own ways. As an adult, I know that there are people I am more comfortable with than others, but I hope I never judge others by how they look, live, believe, etc. I have found that you really do not know what challenges other people have in their lives. People may seem one way, but you never really know what challenges people are living with or what it is like to walk in their shoes.
I hope that both of you learn the importance of accepting people as they are, not judging them. Do whatever you can to help others and to make life better for others. As we pray every night, please ask God to use your heart and hands to do his work on earth. What would Jesus do if he met these people, or were friends with them, or even if he was part of your family? How would God want you treat these people?
And if you run across people that judge you unfairly or treat you differently based on how you look, live, etc., please be patient with them. Very patient with them. Ask for help in forgiving them if you need to. It is not easy to live this way, especially when you have been deeply hurt by someone...but God will give you the strength to forgive and move on. Forgiveness can be given at any time, but it does take time to build trust with someone again. God will help you.....
Please know that I love you both tons and tons.
Love,
Mama
