When I tried to shut my kids down in the middle of the night so we could all go back to sleep, I realized it wasn’t working. After 4 night awakenings in a span of 3 hours after a long 22-hour flight journey, I felt wrecked.
But God taught me a deeper lesson. No one but me would ever have the opportunity to gain access into what was going on in their little minds and hearts. 🗝️
When they said the words, “The enemy told me…,” my jaw dropped. I’d never heard them speak like that before. It gave me a window into the lenses through which they saw our world. 🔭
“What do you do when you can’t sleep?l
“How do I cope with anxiety?”
“Why are my feelings so big and overwhelming to me?”
I learnt, that these are questions all our kids have, but will likely never learn from a curricula in a school. Instead, they’ll learn through how we, their first caregivers, respond to them when they actually struggle through their emotions.
Are we safe? Trusted? Or do we use their emotions and trust in us against them by telling them how they should feel instead? “Go back to sleep! That’s so silly to think! You should be more grateful! How can you…? Don’t you see how hard I’m trying? It’s not such a big deal… Do you know you make me feel sad when you say such things?”💔
I’m learning- how privileged we are to steward their little lives. Let’s use our privilege well. 💛
And if you’ve never grown up having emotionally safe spaces in your parents, know this- you can break the cycle. ❤️🩹🔥