Let's be SOCIAL

Teaching (in)Dependence


My house is quiet for the moment. Gracelyn is taking her daily nap, and Jemma is napping in the Moby Wrap. ( For those who don't know, a Moby Wrap is a long piece of material that you wrap around your body to carry babies up to 35 pounds--www.mobywrap.com).

So with a few moments of peace, I can do something I love...write! Writing brings such a sweet release for me. It doesn't matter if I'm journaling, writing my monthly newspaper column (check out Lipstick & Pearls at www.hillsborofreepress.com), writing an email, or writing this blog.

And at this point in my life, I can use a little respite! Jemma has turned into a fussy baby--eating, sometimes sleeping, but mostly crying. Everyone asks if she's colicky...I'm not sure. But I'm finding it difficult to balance caring for Jemma & spending time with Gracelyn. I don't want Gracelyn to feel left out, but right now, Jemma is requiring, demanding, the majority of my time. 

I know Gracelyn needs to learn patience. She needs to learn to share--even Mommy. But I just feel guilty. Gracelyn's world was turned upside down with Jemma's birth. She deserves time to adjust. But how do I know when that adjustment period is over? And how far do I go in requiring her independence? After all, self-reliance is a man-made concept. The Bible doesn't teach us to live independently. Instead, we are to love and depend on God, as well as love our neighbors. It seems impossible to live both ways--independent of others, yet dependent on our God. What do you think? 



Comments

  1. I guess I make every attempt to depend on myself as much as I feel I can, but also in a large way on other people around me... My coworkers, who are like a second family. My real family, particularly my folks, without whom I wouldn't be near as far along on my house or would have saved as much money in the process, not to mention the innumerable other things they've done for me in my life. And all my other friends. For my part, I don't share that feeling of reliance on a higher power, so it's hard for me to identify with it, but I think there is a time for self-reliance (particularly the more a kid grows up and moves out into the world) and a time to depend on the people in our lives for whom we care and who care about us. Just my 2 cents.

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