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| I'm a princess of God now! |
Ever since she came back from infant care after the two months it took for me to deliver Joram and complete my confinement, Jaide was not the same angelic girl anymore. Sending her there was my greatest regret as a mother. Having experienced terrible bullying at the centre, she became highly aggressive and rebellious. Even after a year and a half, the trauma of her ordeal back then did not seem to diminish. If nothing else, her anger seemed to build up even more. It was as though she didn't know how to forgive and let go of the past.
This one and a half years had been really trying for me. Being a more experienced mother than before, I had a lot of discipline methods and ways to show love under my belt. However, nothing seemed to work. Ultimately, I had to turn back to God for answers.
A few months ago, I was suddenly inspired by the Holy Spirit to tell Jaide that she was the cutest when she obeyed. It appeared that she valued being cute above all else and that phrase helped her curb her desire to disobey pretty well for a while. However, it soon became apparent that although she was finally motivated to obey, she had no power of her own to do so. Eventually, the tantrums increased in frequency and intensity.
Two days ago, after a very draining session of toddler meltdown and a lengthy prep talk from me, I almost casually asked Jaide if she wanted to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior so that He can give her the strength to obey. I was shocked when she quietly said yes. You must understand that this was the girl who screamed whenever I tried praying for her aloud and told me to keep quiet at times when I sang worship songs. This was the very same child who yelled that she didn't love me and couldn't care less about God.
To be sure, I asked her again yesterday and this morning. Her answer remained the same. Thus, I set out to share the good news with her, much like what I did two years ago with her older siblings. (You can read about that
HERE.)
It was an extremely surreal experience sharing with her because she went ahead of me, flipped the pages and told me the gospel in her own words. I merely had to agree with her and correct some of her expressions. The only part where she needed my help in explaining was the portion where the picture described our 2 possible positions in relation to Jesus. She seemed quite amazed that Jesus can actually be in her life and not just some higher power somewhere out there. In fact, after she prayed to receive Christ, I needed to reinforce to her a couple of times before she came to terms with the fact that she has Jesus in her heart now.
I am so glad she took the first step of faith to become a true believer and follower of Jesus. All the bible studies, church sunday school and hearing us discuss about our faith have given her much knowledge, but I pray that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Jaide can learn to internalise all that over time. The old is gone and the new has come. Praise be to God!
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| Cover of her commitment card |
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| On the inside |
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| This portion had the greatest impact on Jaide |
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Celebrating with
ice-blended chocolate,
just as it was so with
her older brother and sister. |
