Wednesday, May 19, 2010

My Little Girl

I find it really hard to parent my daughter Naomi.

She is a wonderful person much of the time, in many ways. She has talents in various areas and and is a faithful friend. She can be sweet and kind to her brothers and other smaller children. She can be very helpful around the house. I especially admire the way she sings whenever she has a job to do -- she can be very cheerful!

But there are some characteristics of hers that I really struggle with. I know that sometimes I should simply lower my expectations and remember that she's only 7. Other times, I should be more pro-active and look for ways to truly address her problems instead of waiting 'til I'm reacting like a volcano. And all the time, I should be praying for her, something I've sadly neglected.

I bought a book a few years ago called "Just Mom and Me Having Tea" that has Bible studies, activities and question/answer ideas for moms to do with their daughters. I'd like to set aside time to spend with Naomi regularly to go through this book and hopefully build up a better relationship. Maybe doing that first will give me a more positive outlook, in preparation for the more difficult issues.

I pray that God will help me be a better mom. I can not do this job well on my own.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I like the idea of going through the book together, trying some of the things suggested.
And, of course, prayer! It's so wonderful to pray about something, and then note a change.
The hard thing for you is to have some individual time with each of your three children. But even once or twice a week with Naomi would be great for building the foundation of love needed when there are problems to deal with.

Dad & I pray for you and Steve as well as the three children every day.

Love,
Mom G.

ErinOrtlund said...

Lisa, even the fact that this is on your heart tells me that you're a good mom to Naomi, and that things can get easier. I know Kate and I get along better when we have more one on one time. But that can be hard to carve out when you have two, let alone three children!