I feel like I’ve been robbed. Not physically, of course, but those kids, they take everything. 🙂
Oh I know it’s not their fault; they’re just kids. It’s all my fault, really. I went into motherhood believing it was a consequence, rather than a blessing.
They are the ones who take, rather than give. They were an obligation, rather than a gift.
Now that I have had a change of heart, I wonder how I could have raised my children differently.
Between the two of us, my husband and I have six kids. Six kids can be expensive, as you might assume. I often feel bad we’re not able to provide them with some of the opportunities that other kids in smaller families have.
People tell me all the time I should put my daughter in dance. I would love to be able to do that, but if I put her in dance, I feel I should put Fun in soccer, and Smart in baseball and, and, well if we put every child in something, we just wouldn’t be able to afford it.
I’ve always felt everyone should have the same. Everyone should be equal. It’s either all or nothing.
But then most of the time it means they get nothing. I hate having to tell them no all the time. But I also feel bad when I let one have something, or get to do something that the others can’t. And they know it, too.
“But that’s not fair!”
Now I know, life is not fair. But I’ve just always felt, in my house it should be. It’s my responsibility to make it be. But you know what? Fair doesn’t always feel right either.
So recently I’ve come across Matthew 20, again. You know, the parable of the vineyard workers? I’ve heard the story a thousand times, but I can’t say I’ve ever applied it to a real life situation.
That is until now.
Recap… A land owner goes into town to hire some workers to work in his vineyard for the day. He promises them a full days wage. Then again, at 3:00 and around 5:00, he goes into town to hire some more. At the end of the day, he pays everyone the same, and the workers who had worked the full day got pretty upset.
Do you know what he told them?
Should you be jealous because I am kind to others? – Matthew 20:15:b
I’ve spent my entire motherhood believing it was wrong to not enforce fairness. It was a sin, really.
Having a blended family has put even more pressure on me, since I would never want Mike to think I’m favoring my kids over his.
But honestly, I now realize I’ve been looking at it all wrong. Instead of judging me, I should have been training them.
I love them all, and I don’t show favorites but it really is OK if an opportunity presents itself for one child, and not for them all.
Should they be jealous because I am kind?
Sometimes one of them can get an extra soda, or go to a movie, or spend the day with grandma, and I don’t need to feel guilty about it.
I do, however, need to teach them to instead of worrying about my behavior, they need to start looking at their own.
Yes, life is not fair. And no matter how hard I try, life is not going to be fair in our house either. And by trying to make it fair, I feel like I’m being robbed of being kind.
Growing Faith 