Vision

My daughters are turning 5 in 10 short days and I can’t believe it! We’ve been having a blast planning the Fairy Garden Party, and I’ve been going nuts with the opportunity to use a bit of my creativity and love for entertaining! Last year I thought it would be fun to let the girls get in on the decorating. So, for their Pink Pig Red Butterfly Birthday, the girls painted pink pigs and red butterflies that hung from our patio covering and made the space so festive and personal. This time I thought I’d let them paint fairies to adorn our garden. I have a vision for this party. I have a vision for these fairies. And guess what? Their vision didn’t match mine! Honestly, I cringed as they began to paint. “No, wait, think about this before you do it.” Yep, kinda controlling Mom – that’s me. Luckily, someone who loves me a lot stepped in and said, “I thought they could paint the fairies any way they want.” “Yes, I said that, but…” Then I realized that my “vision” was destroying some little girls and their creativity. So I stopped, switched gears, and started admiring their work and praising their creativity. No, blue is not one of the colors of the Fairy Garden Party – but you know what? that’s ok. This little blue fairy is beautiful and I’m sure she’ll make a lovely addition to the party.
      We must never allow our vision for our children to over power their vision for themselves. I was reminded that God has uniquely created them and given them vision to create – just like their Moma. It is my responsibility to create an environment where my children can live into their vision and not an environment where they are forced to live into mine.