My oldest daughter Jaylee turned 5 years old on Feb 1st. She was born with a cleft lip and palate along with some other health issues. Growing up, she had a few different surgeries to improve her cosmetic appearance. We have been told that she would need nose surgery when she turned 6 or 7 to make it look more normal. We have discussed it some, but haven’t come up with a definite on how we want to proceed from here. It is a question on whether or not we want her to undergo another surgery in order to fit in better with her peers.
On Jaylee’s birthday, we took her to the Disney store to pick out a princess dress for her birthday party. She loves to play dress up, so we decided it would be fun to let her party be an event where all the kids could do so. When she picked out the dress she liked, she immediately wanted to put it on. After we paid for it, she threw it on over her clothes and walked around the mall like a princess. One of the initial thoughts in my head was that my wife and I would get a lot of negative attention for letting her dress up like that in public, but the opposite actually happened. People were repeatedly commenting on her cuteness and one person actually wanted to take a picture. This brought a new revelation to my way of thinking as a parent.
We as parents often show our kids the normal way of doing things, as we see in the society we live in. As kids grow up in school, they want to fit in with those around them so they don’t feel left out. I am learning that we are not supposed to teach our kids how to fit in, but how to stand out and withstand those who come against them because of it. The bible often talks about persecution and how we need to stand against it. I think it would be a great start to teach them this at an early age and as they grow they will be able to withstand it even more. It may start with physical appearance or learning disadvantages at a young age. As they grow older, this could strengthen their ability to handle attacks against their faith. What a great learning curve this could be!
Parenting is not easy. As our children grow our parenting skills grow with them. We must always be in fellowship with the Father to guide us in this journey. Let us raise our kids from children to adults with the understanding that we are to be the salt in this world. We do not have to have the same flavor as everyone else. In fact, our flavor will stand out and help preserve the world.
“You are the salt of the earth…” Matthew 5:13
Jason Bordeaux
