Reflections on File

I am forever trying to get organized...Drowning in paperwork and files...Alas, it is my own doing (or UNdoing, if you please). I simply can NOT resist the urge to clip and save a good article, picture, drawing, quote, and on and on....

So, today as I made another futile attempt to organize papers and files, the jewel amongst the treasures I chose to share with you is a writing that I can not source, and had "edited" to my own liking with an ever trusty "scratch-out-and-replace-with-my-own-thoughts" method...It may be a strange thing to do...But there and here you have it...

WAYS TO LOVE A CHILD

Give your presence more than your presents. Laugh, dance and sing together. Listen from heart-space. Encourage. Understand. Allow them to love themselves. Say yes as often as possible. Say no when necessary. Consider their no's. Apologize. Touch gently. Build lots of blanket forts. Open up.

Fly kites together. Lighten up. Believe in possibilities. Read books out loud. Create a circle of quiet. Teach feelings. Share your dreams. Walk in the rain. Teach them that their mistakes are for learning. Admit yours. Frame their artwork. Stay up late together. Be cautious with comparison. Delight in silliness. Protect them. Cherish their innocence. Giggle. Speak kindly. Go swimming. Splash. Let them help. Let them cry. Don't hide your tears. Brag about them. Answer their questions.

Let them go when it's time. Let them come back. Show compassion. Bend down to talk to children. Smile even when you're tired. Surprise with a special lunch. Don't judge their friends harshly. Give them enough room to make decisions. Handle what they do with care. Honor their differences. Respect them. Remember they have not been on earth very long.

....But ABOVE ALL these things... Raise them in the place where you continually abide...In the presence of The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit...Forever...