Parenting the single child - Note - I wrote this a couple of months before finding out that we were expecting again. We now have another child, but my heart still has a special place for parents of one special child.
I'm beginning to recognize, and accept, that although God may indeed expand our family in the near or far future, for right now I am the mother of an only child. I never saw myself as the mother of an "only". I always wanted a big family, and to find myself with only one has been frustrating - even though that one is the sweetest, most wonderful daughter I could want!
I've decided that for however long my daughter is an "only", I want to approach this adventure in the positive light of what being an only will give her and us, not what it takes away from her. I've noticed that when people ask me how many children I have, I have two answers. When I want to mention my children in Heaven, I say, "One on earth and three in Heaven." When I want to focus on my daughter, I have a tendency to say, "Just one."
"Just" one? That emphasizes her "only" status, as if she is less blessed or less privileged because she has no siblings. But if this is the road God has designated for her (and for us), then I don't believe God has withheld anything that would have made us more blessed than we are. She is complete as a single child, just as I was complete as a single woman before I married my husband.
So...I don't have "just one" child. I am raising one fabulous daughter for the Lord. She is a single child, a unique member of her generation in our family, our favorite child, and our one-of-a-kind offspring. I'll be blogging more about this in the days to come, but I also invite your comments on this on the forums. Especially for those of us who are raising single children because of circumstances rather than choice, let's share our ideas about the blessing of our circumstances, ways to guard against the pitfalls, and ways to encourage each other as we let go of our dreams in favor of embracing the life God has for us.
I've decided that for however long my daughter is an "only", I want to approach this adventure in the positive light of what being an only will give her and us, not what it takes away from her. I've noticed that when people ask me how many children I have, I have two answers. When I want to mention my children in Heaven, I say, "One on earth and three in Heaven." When I want to focus on my daughter, I have a tendency to say, "Just one."
"Just" one? That emphasizes her "only" status, as if she is less blessed or less privileged because she has no siblings. But if this is the road God has designated for her (and for us), then I don't believe God has withheld anything that would have made us more blessed than we are. She is complete as a single child, just as I was complete as a single woman before I married my husband.
So...I don't have "just one" child. I am raising one fabulous daughter for the Lord. She is a single child, a unique member of her generation in our family, our favorite child, and our one-of-a-kind offspring. I'll be blogging more about this in the days to come, but I also invite your comments on this on the forums. Especially for those of us who are raising single children because of circumstances rather than choice, let's share our ideas about the blessing of our circumstances, ways to guard against the pitfalls, and ways to encourage each other as we let go of our dreams in favor of embracing the life God has for us.