God Is Gracious

A page in Jayna's report card

Today, we had a Parents-teachers meeting and received the older children's report cards. Jayna's excellent performance in school has encouraged me tremendously. All along, everyone has noticed her intelligence and capabilities which are more advanced than her peers. Her emotional maturity is another story altogether. It has been an extremely trying journey in teaching her to submit her emotions under the lordship of Christ. Dealing with her regular outbursts and screaming tantrums was particularly exhausting.

However, God is indeed gracious. All the efforts in filling up her love tank relentlessly and disciplining her firmly for the first half of the year through homeschooling have paid off. Even the teachers also marvel at how well behaved she is now at school. At home, even though she is still harder to manage than the other 2 kids, she is able to listen to reason and respond better to our love during her tantrums. She is definitely so much better during this pregnancy than last year when I was pregnant with Jaide!

I simply can't thank God enough for the miraculous change we see in her throughout this year. It makes for a far more peaceful and enjoyable family life now that she is more emotionally developed. I look back on the days in the past when she made me cry in despair on a regular basis and I'm just so grateful that it is a thing of the past. 

With her stubborn personality and certain idiosyncracies in her character, I cannot be complacent and must continue to teach/remind her the right way to interact with others despite the strength of her emotions at a certain point. She is no doubt gradually growing into the beautiful princess of God that I constantly remind her that she is meant to be.

May she become the powerful agent of empathy that God has shown me she'll be. Praise be to our gracious Lord!