The Middle of the Night

Almost DoneLove is patient Love is kind and is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not arrogant.
I Corinthians 13:4
My sweet friend NancyJo and I lived next door to each other and had babies around the same time. I'll never forget a conversation I had with NancyJo that literally changed my life.
She commented one day on how special her night had been the night before with her daughter. I of course assumed if she was so happy obviously the baby had slept through the night. I wish you could have heard NancyJo's response to me. She sweetly smiled and said that her daughter had not slept through the night, instead quite the opposite. She had waked up around 2:30am wet and hungry. NancyJo said she changed her and fed her, and in the quiet of the living room she snuggled her and talked to her, just the two of them uninterrupted. She was so thankful for their little time together. She said having that time was such a short season, and she wanted to enjoy every minute.
I, on the other hand, spent the night before pretending to be asleep hoping my husband would get up and bring the baby to me. Then I broke records trying to feed her and change her and put her back down to sleep.
After hearing NancyJo's precious example of patience and tenderness with her daughter, my late nights became treasured moments.
When my girls were toddlers, if you didn't have patience it was tough because  every other sentence was "I do it myself." As my girls have gotten older I have found that patience and kindness strengthen a relationship much better than when I am impatient or unkind.
Love is not jealous. I love that! Teaching this concept in my home to my girls was and is very important to me. I so desired for them to be truly happy for each other when one of them won sports or received honors or just won a game of kickball in the back yard. I have to say the world does not teach this concept. However, learning to be each others biggest cheerleader has grown my girls relationship with each other by leaps and bounds. A relationship absent of jealousy creates love.
Verse 4 also says love does not brag and is not arrogant. Bragging and arrogance usually occurs when there's insecurity or lack of confidence. If your daughter feels loved by you there will be no need for her to brag or to be arrogant. She will have what she needs. A sweet love relationship between a mother and daughter breeds strength and security.
Thank you for listening. Love hearing your thoughts and stories!
Love love love Ruthie