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from www.ToddHiestand.com – August 2007 post. Thought provoking and an important concept.
August 16, 2007
Tonight, my parents hosted a little get together for all of their friends (many were friends who have known me since I was just a little weasel) to come and welcome Mason into our family. It really was a neat time and we were excited to have so many people be so excited about this kid.
One of the things that I often hear now is the statement that “God must have such a special plan for Mason.†This is great statement and I do believe that it is true. In fact, I can’t believe that after a year and a half of waiting we find ourselves parents of someone who seems like such a perfect fit to our family. God’s finger prints are all over this kid and his adoption that is for sure.
My only concern with this kind of statement however, is how it might be misunderstood by him as he grows up. When we say “God has something special and great for you†I hope that we are very, very careful in how we frame that. I mean, its not as if God has a more special plan for Mason than he does for Cole right? My worry is more in what he learns to define as “special†and “great.†What I mean is that we (and by we I mean us and all his friends) need to be careful not to put unnecessary pressure on him to become something like an astronaut or a great pastor or write a book or cure the planet of AIDS.
What I do hope that we can do for Mason and for Cole (heck for all the children in our lives) is help re-define greatness for them from the narrative of scripture. I pray that they can grow up knowing that their greatness lies not in their profession or job but in something comepletly different.
In fact, first and foremost I pray that their measure of greatness simply comes from the knowledge that they are God’s beloved, his children, his special creation. Second, I pray that they would simply understand greatness in how well they love God and love others and how they respond to God’s call on their lives to be part of what he is doing in the world.
I can think of many people who are “great†(many of them were at this gathering tonight) who no one has ever heard of. No one will ever write books about them. You won’t find their stories by searching on Google. But, they have loved and grown Godly families and served God in amazing, compassionate and faithful ways and have truly been part of what he is doing in the world.
So, here’s to redefining greatness and allowing our children to not feel the pressure to be something “great†in the worlds eyes and instead allowing our children the freedom to become who God is calling them to be.
Carpenter? President? CEO? Garbageman? Pastor? Who really cares.
(For the record when people say this to us, I know that they believe the same things I do, my emphesis here is just on how our children interpret what we say).
added note by Grandma: There are now two more Hiestand Men in the family!