Treasure Chests

One of my favorite authors is Sally Clarkson, and recently I had the pleasure of watching and listening to a video conference session of hers, in which she spoke on living creatively. In it she described a picture of raising children that I have adopted as my own. She talked about picturing her children's lives as chests that she had the opportunity to fill with different treasures that they would then be able to unpack and use later. The idea made me think about the different kinds of things I want to place in the chests that are my children's lives - and the types of things I want to leave out. 

While I've only recently heard this concept, in some ways, I think I've always had this attitude about my children. Matt and I view being able to spend time with our children as a gift, and though I know it's not best for me to be with them every second, and there are times when I desperately long for a break, I also think very carefully before letting my kids spend time with other people. I know that no one will ever love my children the way I do, but I do want them to spend their early childhoods with people that understand their value, long to know them as individuals and realize that they are, in fact, image-bearers of Christ.

This doesn't mean that I only want my children to spend time with me or people who think exactly the way I do. I have come to understand that while God has gifted me with certain talents and abilities, there is much my children have to learn from people other than me. This whole notion of being the primary influencer, but surrounding my children with other people that also gifts to offer has been a guiding principal in determining how Sophie and Will spend their days. 

Thinking about the treasure chest idea, got me thinking about my own childhood. My parents were definitely the primary influencers in my life, but the Lord allowed many other relationships to nourish my soul. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, so many friends from church, and even teachers placed different kinds of treasure into the treasure chest of my life. As a young adult, the students I taught, their families and other teachers at PCA continued to give me various treasures that I've now "unpacked" and seek to pass on to my own children.

In some ways I think of In Case They Ever Wonder as a love letter to my children, and maybe, too, as a place to describe the treasures not only that I've been given, but also those I am giving them.