When Joseph is caught doing something wrong, he is prompt to apologise; Clarissa on the other hand will take her time to analyse the situation to ascertain if an apology is due; if so, she would apologise 24 hours later, when she is done being angry! As a parent and being in the receiving end, I welcome my children's apologies like morning dew as they help me to diffuse my anger. Clarissa noticed that I praised Joseph for his quick response despite the fact that his next course of action might betray his sincerity.
Once, Clarissa questioned my love for her and even challenged me, if I had favoured her mischievous brother more. "I like the fact that Joseph says sorry when told to do so. This shows that he knows that he is wrong." I began my attempt at explaining. "But, he will do the same thing again!" she objected. "Well, he is still young and is likely to make the same mistakes again. We all make mistakes now and again. The important thing is: we must remember to say sorry and say it quickly" I persisted.
I didn't expect her to change as I know that it takes more than mere words to change a person; it requires divine intervention. However, I believed that she had taken my point seriously. After that conversation, I started to pay more attention to her love language (primarily food). Then last Saturday, while we were having dinner at a restaurant, everyone's order had come except for mine. "Hi mummy, are you ok? Would you like some of my food?" she offered kindly and totally out my expectation! "Why? What a sweet offer!" I was touched beyond words. Later, I asked her about her behavior during dinner time and she replied "Mummy, I have decided to be a better person. For example, I will try to say sorry quickly whenever I am wrong and be kind to others!" And for the rest of the weekend, whenever she did something wrong, she would apologise even before I asked her to!
Her action has inspired me to be a better person too as I realized that if God can work in her; He can surely works in me too! There will be the occasional failure of course, but it's encouraging to see that one is never too young nor too old for character moulding!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Ah, Clarissa is so sweet! Praise the Lord! I must try that verse on Nic to inspire him. About love language, must find out more about that. What if the things they like are not good for them like fast food and games - then how?
ReplyDeletehi liz
ReplyDeleteyes, clarissa contains the extremes of virtues at times. sometimes, sweeter than honey but other times, more bitter than bittergurds! ray says she is just like me! :p
a person's 5 love languages comprise of spending quality time, gifts, positive words, physical touch and acts of service. fast food and games are not regarded as these are indulgence. for clarissa, if i make an effort to get her good food, she is highly appreciative!
J sounds for most part sanguine, like evan, C possibly has melancholic mixes in her personality ... with talented gifts in the making. interesting that two children from the same set of parents can be so different, yah...
ReplyDelete