I have a very vivid memory of one day when I was busy hanging washing on the line. At that time, we lived on the edge of a creek, surrounded by gum trees. It was a beautiful spot, and it seemed that outside was the perfect place for prayer.
'Lord', I prayed, 'I know I'm going to have lots of sons, but could I ask for just one favour? Could you give me just one little girl, so that I can do her hair, buy her pretty dresses, and do all those Mum / Daughter things?"
And God showed me His sense of humour.
SEVEN girls. ONE boy.
For the life of me, I cannot figure out why I assumed I'd have mostly boys. Maybe because it was typical in the Maher family to have mainly boys, I'm not sure. But one thing I learned - never tell God that you 'know' what He has planned for you!
Ironically, while I was growing up, and even into adulthood, I would often choose the company of boys over girls. I just was never into the 'look at my nails' or 'what do you think of this dress'? etc. conversations, but would happily ditch the girls to head down the pub for a game of pool with the guys. While I certainly do appreciate my female friends these days, I'm still happy to spend time chatting with the men- something about being able to relax and not have to deal with all the emotions and dramas of females.
And again, I'm reminded of my seven (now mostly teenage) girls......
Life is certainly about learning, and moving out of your comfort zone, isn't it? I'm now having a great time with my girls - we are the best of friends, and we have so much fun together. And sometimes, when we can find the time, we do actually do those Mother / Daughter things I'd prayed about - but on a much larger scale!
But here's irony no. 2: who cooks most of the dinners in our house?Yep, the boy!
And for a long time, while I suffered with depression and burn-out, he also took over the washing - every week, day in, day out, for over two years, he cooked and washed. The girls of course were an immense help as well, but Daniel likes to have his 'set' jobs, and so he took over these two chores, with no complaints.
Fortunately, I'm getting back on my feet now - and I've taken back the washing job, but Daniel still cooks our meals and helps out in many other ways around the place.
Some days, I think it would be nice to be a 'normal' family - but hey, we're just not. We seem to do everything backwards, upside down, and inside out.
Life is much more entertaining this way - I wouldn't change it for the world!
Linda.
3 comments:
And what a wonderful blessing this young man is. His heart for his family is evident when you meet him.
God is so good Linda.
Pleased to read that you are on the mend.
Linda,
Although I grew up one of three girls, I also assumed I'd have only boys. Maybe it was because both my grandmother and mother in law had all boys and they would have loved a girl. Like you, I prayed for just one girl. We have 5 girls!
I know of a couple of families who have lots of girls and only one boy. One father described his family like this: We have 6 girls and each has a brother. I thought that was very clever!
I bet your son has a very special relationship with his dad.
I loved your post!
LOL Angel! Trouble is, I got so busy with them all, that I rarely had time to do the whole 'hair' and 'dress' thing, anyway!
Sue - I love the comment that each one of them has a brother, I will certainly be using that one.
And Chareen, thankyou for your lovely comment about my boy - I was very touched.
We're certainly glad he's now returned home from NSW, and the first thing he did was to spend a few hours in the kitchen, creating a special dinner for us all.
God really does grant us blessings in ways we never expect.
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