Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, "Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come. "Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. (Genesis 49:1-2 NLT)
Today I had the pleasure of holding my new nephew, Ty. The little guy is ready to take on the world. He clearly communicates what he wants, when he is happy, and when he is not satisfied with my performance as uncle. I've fed him, held him, changed his diaper, and already had a good uncle, nephew talk with him. We are starting to understand one another.
His mom and I also had a talk today. We talked about the changes that a new baby brings into their family. We talked about how their 5th grade adopted son is loving his new little brother. We talked about how different our children are - all of them.
As we talked, I started thinking about what it is like to raise children. If there's something that our current method of education does to confuse us parents, it's telling us that somehow there is such a thing as "normal" or "average" when it comes to our children. Each one is different. Each one is knit together specifically. Each one is a gift from God.
We can't lump them all together and look for "normal" or "average" to determine if they are doing alright or not. Instead, we should be going to school on them. We should be learning who they are, how they are made, how God wants them to flourish. Then we, as their parents, help them develop and grow so that they will flourish - living out the design He has encoded into their DNA.
Jacob understood this. He was getting ready to pass away and he called his sons together. He told them about their futures and gave them insight into themselves from their pasts. He had gone to school on his sons and he shared what he has seen with hopes that they will see it, too. He prayed for them. Then he entrusted them into God's care.
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