High Energy Children

Someone asked me if any of my children were "high energy". I laughed! What I wanted to say was "No. I have no idea what you're talking about. None of my children have ever spoken out of turn or walked out of line. They have never dumped out all 40,000 legos and spread them all over the room. They have never covered themselves in baby powder during naptime. They have never written on themselves, their sister and the newly painted bathroom walls with bright red lipstick. And my favorite: They have never taken off a poopy diaper, stepped it and made poopy foot prints all over the carpet." But then reality smacks me in the face and I have to say "Yes". If God has chosen to bless you with one of these little treasures, you are finding yourself saying "no" 15,634 times a day. Instead of enjoying a quiet moment, you panic because quiet can't be good! And the thought of one of your friends "dropping by" creates all kinds of anxiety because your "treasure" has been busy all morning and your house now lies in ruin. Be encouraged! I am convinced that these children are going to do amazing things with their lives. I'm sure you would agree, they are going "somewhere" FAST. Our job is to be a constant guide so that that "somewhere" is "somewhere" good.

When Madison was about a year old, we could see that she had more energy than her two older brothers. She was always up at the crack of dawn and ready to take on the world. I guess I had been spoiled by her brothers who woke up early, but once I nursed them they were happy to go right back to sleep. Not Madison! As time progressed, she had some breathing issues that landed her in the hospital on more than one occassion. When we would bring her home from her stay at the hospital (usually a week) she would be wired on all kinds of steroids. Now she was not only "busy", she was also angry! She was promoted out of the nursery at church because she beat up on every child in there.

When she came down off of the steroids, she was still busy! She was like a little hurricane leaving a path of destruction wherever she went. On several occasions, she even got lost. And I'm not talking about in a department store. One time we were at a County Fair on the Fourth of July. We had been walking through the midway and let the kids ride one ride. We walked away from that area and were in the dispaly with all kinds of birds. An area we thought she would be interested in. Before we could turn around, she was gone. It was so crowded, we decided to go staight to the security to see if they could help us. About ten long minutes later, someone came across the security radio saying that they had found her. She had decided to go back to the midway to ride the rides. She was three. We hugged her and told her we were so relieved to find her. She looked at us like we had just spoiled the best time of her life. Later that same summer we were up at my parents cabin in the mountains. We had just returned from a little craft fair that was down the hill and across the street. We put the babies down for naps (Moriah 2 and Hannah 1)and Jordan 7, Trevor 5 and Madison 3,were downstairs watching a movie. Dan and I were enjoying the quiet. . . . wait too quiet! You see, even when watching a movie, Madison was not quiet. We quickly called downstairs only to find our worst fears confirmed. She was nowhere to be found. The search was on. We went outside and started calling her name. No response. I started to panic. Where could she have gone? The possibilities were endless. We were in the mountains, there were trees and bushes and animals and . . . before I could go any further in my mind, Dan (my wonderfully calm and brilliant husband) Said "I know where she is." He told me to stay here and he would go get her. He walked back down to the craft fair. And guess who he found. She was standing with a woman who told Dan that he could not take her because she had already called the Sheriff and he was on his way. Dan waited with Madison and the strange woman until the Sheriff arrived. He explained what had happened and brought Madison back to the cabin. Of course she received some "consequences" and then was put to bed. There are many more "Maddy" stories. Ones about potty training, about hitting brothers and sisters, about running into her room yelling "I hate you" and slamming her door.

But I'm sure you get the idea and I need to fast forward to this last summer. She is 13 now. I had to have surgery in July. When I came home from the hospital, the kids had moved the TV and DVD into my bedroom so I could recover there. Of course, that meant that all of the kids were in my room as well. This was great most of the time. I really enjoyed having them with me. Occasionally the pain was so severe that the only thing I could do was cry. The pain meds weren't helping and I just couldn't cope. Through tears, I had to ask the kids to go out of the room for a little while so I could "rest". (cry alone. really) The children were all wonderful and would file out quietly. (I don't cry very often, so they were all very concerned). One particular time, they were leaving the room and the door closed behind them. A few seconds later, Madison came back in quietly and touched me on the arm. "Mom, would it be OK if I prayed for you right now?" She sat down at the foot of my bed and said a quiet prayer for me. It makes me cry just thinking about it. She has come so far!! God is so faithful!! We have stuggled for so many years hoping that we were doing the right thing for her. Are we doing enough? Are we too hard on her? Do I have to keep telling her the same things over and over? . . . Yes. We are doing enough. No. We have not been too hard on her. and YES. I have to keep telling her the same things over and over and over and over . . . She is still a very "active" child. But she is becoming a beautiful young woman and we are beginning to see the fruit of our labor. Quite honestly, I'm not sure when she was three, that I would have considered her a "blessing". And that is why I have written this today. I want all of you who have a child like Madison to be able to have a glimpse into the future. Be diligent. Be consistent. Don't make excuses for them. Hold them to a higher standard. So that someday, they will "rise up and call you blessed"! Proverbs 23:24-25 says "The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him. May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice!" I can say honestly I rejoice in the day Madison was born!

Be blessed!

Trina

Madison has read this and given her permission to post it.