Today, I want to tell you about our littlest, Abby.
It's funny how when you're expecting your second child you tell yourself this insane lie that the second will be like the first. I'm sure it's because there is a lack of experience, but none the less, we assume they'll behave the same way, think the same way, even look somewhat the same.
But oh how wrong we are and we certainly were when Abby arrived.
Katie was very timid as a little one. Cautious, quieter, more inquisitive than investigatory. She questioned everything (and still does, just in that obnoxious preteen way) ;)
Abby, however, is her complete opposite. She was the one climbing on the couches, getting into stuff she shouldn't and has the energy we all wish we could bottle. It would be easy to label her as hyper or a wild child, but it's not unpurposed energy. She knows exactly what she's trying to do.
Raising Abby is such a different experience than raising our oldest. Admittedly, an overwhelming one when we'd been used to quiet, reserved Katie.
I mean how could two girls raised in the same house with the same parents be SO different?
I remember a day last year as we were driving to church where Abby made me really appreciate who God created to be. I was trying to talk to her about something and I could tell she wasn't paying any attention. Super frustrated, I said, "Abby, why aren't you paying attention to me?"
She replied, "Because I'm busy looking at the world."
*gut check*
In that moment, I got it. I understood, better, my girl. It wasn't that she was purposely ignoring me. She was busy looking at the world, taking it in, seeing what it has to hold for her.
And that's what she does. Constantly. She is more of what we need in this world. Her day revolves around making people happy and is rarely seen without a smile. She also has her very own sense of style and it is very...unique. :) But in her words, "She makes it look good."
It also isn't rare to see her busting a move wherever there is music. School, stores, often an impromptu ballet in the living room and she couldn't careless who's watching. A prime example of her personality is found in last year's basketball pictures for school. The first picture she had to pose as they directed. The second, they said she could do whatever she wanted. So she did this...
The her, the more people watching her do her thing, the better...because she's making them laugh. We joke and say that the rest of us are just in Abby's movie acting as supporting cast. She just truly loves life. She also loves others well.
Abby doesn't like seeing people struggle or upset. She doesn't hold grudges or stay mad long. She cares deeply for her friends and loves Jesus a whole lot. Outside of the normal frustrating kid stuff, she is such a light in an often dark world.
As a mom who admittedly really values being still and quiet, I have to be careful not to dim that light when I need her just to be calm. That's not who God created her to be.
Does He expect her obedience? Absolutely! Does He want me to change who she is? No.
I tell her all the time when I'm working on correcting bad behavior that I don't want her to change who she is, just how she's acting in that moment.
You see, Abby, just like Katie, just like me and just like you, is created the way we are for a purpose. I've talked before how we all have a place or purpose in this world. There are things Abby will be able to do that Katie won't because of their individual personalities and vice versa. If I make Abby feel less valuable because she just won't sit and be silent, then I could possibly be cheating the world of what God has planned for that exploring soul of hers. Her little gypsy soul.
We call her our "wide open spaces" girl (referring to the Dixie Chicks song of years ago).
So while I get frustrated, tired and some times a little crazy from the whirlwind that is our Abby Grace, I wouldn't want her to be any other way. I pray that God reminds me in those times that He loves her and is creating in her someone who has a big purpose in His plan. That I find balance in training her up without dulling her spirit. That I remember that some times, it's okay to be more like her.
She is confident. She is loving, She brings joy. She is bold. She seeks adventure. She loves Jesus.
She's busy looking at the world.
Look at the world baby girl. It needs more of you in it.
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