Tyan's Photoblog
Close to my heart--Sharing
Posted by tyan (Singapore, Singapore) on 24 June 2009 in People & Portrait.
Ian has this quirky habit. Say each of the boys are given four nuggets each. Ian will nibble a bit of each of his nuggets, then move on to take his brother's nuggets and nibble them too. So yesterday, he did that again. We corrected him and he started wailing. Caleb, without any prompting, took his own nugget,broke it into two and gave it to his brother,saying,''Nah,don't cry.'
I almost choked with tears. Hub and I looked at each other in amazement and praised Caleb for sharing without prompting.
But thinking deeper, sometimes i feel a tug-of-war in my heart. We want to teach him Christian values, as well as things like sharing with others and caring for others. But then you know that in this cruel and perverse world, people who share and love probably will become victims of bully and abuse. Then one wonders what good it is to teach them to share with others when nobody out there will do so and will probably take advantage of them for sharing. I guess we can only persevere in doing what we think is right and pray that our children will find refuge and assurance in their family and God.
rainsocks from Singapore, Singapore
Jamie does that nibble thing too. haha. Guess it is the same with most 2 year olds. We just have to teach them right and impart them with the right values, then leave them to fend for themselves in the big, bad world...
24 Jun 2009 5:08am
Judy from Brooksville, Florida, United States
Caleb has an advantage over Ian ... in that he's learned from you and L for a longer period. Also they boys won't have exactly the same personalities. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you," is a hard lesson to learn, but if we live it, our children are bound to pick up on it.
We cannot correct the faults of others, but must start with ourselves. Warm hugs......
24 Jun 2009 11:00am
Viewfinder from Bradenton, FL, United States
Caleb is showing he is understanding the meaning of giving. His brother is much younger and less mature, so he's doing what two-year olds do. Giving and sharing is not weakness, no matter what the world may say. It is actually a great strength, because God is always in the giving, generous heart in any act of true sharing.
24 Jun 2009 3:49pm
Tammy-Cricket from United States
The first word that comes to my mind is "example." I have two children. One boy at 14 and the other at 8. We experience this each day. I have taught both of them to be kind, but yet you do have to be a man and be able to take care of yourself. The oldest of the two is 6'2 right now. He is known as the gentle player. He plays sports but yet off the court he is kind to everyone. That does give me a good feeling. I have taught him that if he is kind to others...normally those around you will be kind to you.
It will all work out.
24 Jun 2009 5:50pm
Canon IXUS 80 IS
1/60 second
F/2.8
ISO 640
7 mm