During elementary school our children are given the opportunity to earn a trip to the Chicago museums by getting on the honor roll. My youngest daughter Jessica accomplished this the final quarter of last year.
Since Jessica is the last of my five children I have already taken this trip four times. I can literally run up and down the halls of the museums in my head. There is so much to see, but certainly I have my favorites like the Mummies, Dinosaurs, Trains and the cobblestone walk of Yesteryear. As we traveled to Chicago last week, I was excited to see them again and watch Jessica explore. The first thing we did as we arrived at each museum was look at the map and circle the “must see” exhibits. To my dismay Jessica’s “must see” list was very different from the one in my head. She is what my husband and I refer to as a “Math/Science” brain and I am a “Creative/Art” brain. We experience and learn very differently and frankly what inspires me is boring to her and vice versa. Obviously, I knew this about her, but I hoped seeing these things in real life would intrigue her. Not a chance. She stopped to see every bug under every microscope, read every fact on every computer and operate every machine on display. We even spent 30 minutes watching a baby chick peck its way out of an egg and stumble into the world. She had a blast!
Jessica earned this trip and we wanted her to have fun, but my purposes for letting her “do it her way” go back a few years. When Jessica was younger, I was having a day where my patience was a little short and her inquisitiveness got the better of me. We must have been on question number 2,000 for the day and I needed a break. I asked Jessica to give me some quiet time, but she was tenacious in her quest for answers. Finally, I just prayed “God please make Jessica a little more amendable.” The response was immediate and as close to a shout as I have ever heard from God. “Do not squash her, I have made her this way for my purposes.” This had such an impact on me I will never forget it. I realize this doesn’t mean I should let her run wild and forgo discipline, but I keep in mind my job is to guide her and challenge her to grow in her gifting not change her. God has unique plans for my daughter and I have no doubt a little tenacity will come in handy or He wouldn’t have created her that way.
Are you frustrated with some people in your life because they don’t see things the way you do? Our inclination would be to say, “We just don’t see eye to eye” and steer away from them. Perhaps God knew that we would stay in our comfort zone, see and experience the world merely from our perspective if we weren’t challenged to do otherwise. With all the choices at the museum I never would have taken the time to watch a baby chick hatch, but what a beautiful memory I have sharing this with my daughter.
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