Hopes & Dreams

I spend so much time thinking about our "new" kiddos! Our recent time with them allowed us to glimpse more of their personalities. So now my daydreams are more specific than before. God created them - every detail - and I just want to know more and more of them! It's going to take time... And the truth is, there's so much more for them to learn about themselves.

I keep thinking about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. If you ever took a Psych 101 class, you know what I'm talking about. It's the concept that we all have many needs, but the base needs are survival driven. Those needs must be met before we move on to understanding the others... 

Our kids are at the base. Over their little lifetimes, biological needs haven't consistently been met so a good portion of their brain is just always consumed with the basics: food and water. It's truly a survival mode. They can't really focus on much else or see beyond their present environment... They intellectually know about some of the other needs, like safety and belonging, but they haven't experienced much of that security. They just can't comprehend it yet.

So questions that we're generally used to asking as we get to know little ones aren't really effective in this situation. Simple "what is your favorite color" or "what do you like to do" can stump them...

When we asked our daughter about her favorite foods, she seemed confused. Then she listed things... When we met those exact requests, we realized she didn't like those foods and obviously hadn't tried them before. She had just answered with the foods she had heard other people talk about!

And when we ask our son what he likes to play, he'll tell you that riding a bike is his favorite thing. And then if you ask more about it, you learn he's never owned a bike, ridden a bike, or even seen a bike up close... it's the idea of a bike! He may or may not like it when he finally gets to ride one, but pretty soon he'll be able to try it and make up his own mind. (I have a feeling Santa has this in the works! ;))

So you can only imagine how a question like "what do you want to be when you grow up" would blow their minds! We can't wait to see what dreams God lays in their sweet hearts... and how precious the day is when they realize the possibilities are endless!

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11