Little girls need help sorting out their emotions - not so they can wallow in them, but so they can learn to control them.
We tell our girls that their feelings are like horses - beautiful, spirited horses. But they are the riders. We tell them that God gave them this horse when they were born, and they will ride it their whole life. God also set us on a path on the top of a mountain together and told us to follow it. We can see for a long way - there are beautiful flowers, lakes, trees and rainbows. (We are little girls after all!). This is how we "walk in the light as He is in the light, and have fellowship with one another" (1 John 1:7).
When our emotions act up, it is like the horse trying to jump the fence and run down into a yucky place full of spiders to get lost in the dark. A good rider knows what to do when the horse tries to bolt - you pull on the reins! Turn the horse's head! Get back on the path! We also tell our girls that God told us if we see one of them with her horse down in a mud puddle spitting at people who walk by, it is our job to haul them up, willing or unwilling, back to the path. ....
The goal is not to cripple the horse, but equip the rider. A well-controlled passionate personality is a powerful thing. That is what dangerous women are made of. But a passionate personality that is unbridled can cause a world of damage. If you see a lot of passion in your little girls, don't be discouraged. It is just wonderful, raw material. ... But don't treat it lightly either - runaway horses can be a very real threat to your little girls.
Loving the Little Years, Rachel Jankovic (pg. 29-30)
I'm loving this book. Full of helpful truths on how to love this stage of mothering, difficult though it may be. This chapter especially struck me, as my Bella is a spitfire. But, the more I dwelt on Jankovic's words, the more I saw it applying to me. Us women-folk could always use a lesson in controlling our emotions...
4 comments:
I love how you've gotten into Rachel Jankovic. She blogs at Femina sometimes but her mom is the one who writes most of the time (something about her having a lot of kids-she has one more than me in the same amount of time...twins). Everything they write about is just spot on! That book is one of the best books on mothering that I've read in a long time. I'm so glad you're enjoying it!! Hope you're doing great Jenny.
I loved this same passage!! Yes such great reminders as we raise our little kiddos!
I just ordered that book and can't wait to get started! Thanks for sharing this excerpt :) ...I have an 18 month old "spitfire" of a girl - ha!
That is absolutely the BEST description I have ever heard about controlling our emotions!!
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