Speech is something on my mind quite a lot. Liam has speech delays & speaking, & understanding for that matter, have not come easily for him. So naturally, my ears perked up when this woman was not only talking about children, but also how to listen & talk to them.
But it wasn't until the closing lines of her talk that my heart was really pricked. "May the words we speak and write to our children reflect the love our Heavenly Father has for His Son, Jesus Christ, and for us. And then may we pause to listen, for a child is most capable of speaking great and marvelous things in return."
Could it be that my little Liam, speech delays & all, could speak "great & marvelous things" and I was missing them? As I've taken this to heart & paused to really listen to him, I've been amazed at the things which he can communicate to me.
A few examples-
"Liam is broken. Fix it." (This is often said while cradling a perfectly fine knee or foot. I've discovered the miraculous healing power of my kisses and hugs.)
"Hold you." (This always stops me in my tracks and reminds me that whatever it is I'm doing can wait just a bit so I can hold my boy.)
"Liam in time out?" (He's said this after I've gotten after him from something. And I have to reassure him, "No. No time out. I'm not mad." Gosh, I've felt like this before when I've done something "bad". I've felt like I deserve more of a punishment than God seems to require of me. This is just one example of how I'm learning things about myself & my relationship with God through observing my son(s) and our relationship with each other.)
Understanding & learning the ways that Liam communicates with me is not always easy. I have to put on my special listening ears to hear his small voice. It is so much like hearing the voice of the Lord. I have to incline my ear to hearing & understanding the "still, small voice". And as I do so, I learn great and marvelous things.
I haven't pulled out my camera for weeks. We've actually been pretty sick around here. So here's a few pics of my rapidly growing boys.
