Emily is my middle, about to turn 10 in a couple of weeks. In some ways, however, she’s beat her older sister to puberty. She’s wrestling with her own soul, it seems, these days, and dragging Mom and Dad (and whoever happens to be around) into the fight with her. It’s exhausting at times, for Emily does nothing and feels nothing in small doses. She lives life and feels it in the extreme.
\nThis week she’s grounded from some of her favorite things. In Emily’s world it’s all about her and she genuinely doesn’t understand that there are others to be considered. It sounds odd, perhaps, to put it that way, but I think that’s the case, she just can’t grasp the concept of considering other people. One day she will, but not now. This self immersion gets her in trouble, but I know that if this is not broken in her, she will never find peace and will never find God. It’s hard, but it cannot be ignored.
\nShe cried tonight and told me she wanted her Ellie (a treasured stuffed elephant, she likes pink Milly) back. “Not until Wednesday,” I said, “but if you show me a changed heart … ”
\n“But how do I do that?” she interrupted, through tears.
\nI stood at her bed speechless, tears forming on my own cheeks.
\nHow indeed, Emily, how indeed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"