Practicing for Real Life

Dear Friends,

Recently I heard a delightful story of how the children in one Lifestyle of Learning™ family expressed their compassionate hearts through their playtime. The girls asked their mom to take them to all the thrift stores in town. They had written a strategy for how to rescue all the forgotten stuffed animals! Mom asked them about all the other children who might also like to purchase a stuffed animal, but their response was, “Mommy, we just want the misfits; the ones that no one else will buy.” When asking further what their plan was, the girls said they planned to wash and mend them, because, “Every misfit deserves to know he has a name, Mommy!”

Imagine this mom going the distance with her girls’ desire, driving them around town to gather up the cast-offs and misfits of the stuffed animal world. Picture the girls going to work mending, cleaning, brushing matted fur, trimming, and beautifying to their hearts’ content in their own home “veterinarian clinic.”

It takes wisdom to recognize the potential of play as practicing for real life, and this precious story reminded me so much of my own daughter’s compassionate nature toward animals and wildlife when she was a girl. Let me tell you her story, (which is as much my story only different lessons), about how practicing on real animals prepared her for God’s work in reaching out to people.

My precious Kathryn loves animals both domestic and wild. As she grew in her care of animals throughout childhood, an interesting pattern emerged about her inner motivations. She wasn’t content to just have animals in her life, she wanted to restore health to wounded animals, build trust with abused domestic animals, and even build trust with and train wildlife—all relational motivations.

From her earliest appeals to me to pray over a half dead snake found in the road, lay hands on small birds and bunnies the cat dragged in, care for half-starved stray cats, rescue a bat from the fly tape in the barn, lay hands on her own injured chickens and peacocks, Kathryn tried to rescue every wounded life that came across her path and train any that allowed her to get close enough, even the Blue Jays that frequented our yard! Over the years, she rescued countless birds, small mammals, domestic animals, and even forcefully defended a bird from a friend threatening to kill it with his BB gun, wrenching it out of his hand and demanding he not use it on anything living while on our property. She trained chickens, peabirds, the neighbors dogs, our cats and dogs, and her own horse. By the time she was 16-years-old, (when she and her brother, John, had the meaningful experience of rehabilitating a lost, abandoned puppy they adopted and named Happy), she decided that it was far more rewarding to heal animals—winning their trust and loyalty—than to just have pets.

Mind you, being a city girl myself, and so unfamiliar with nature and animals, I never could identify with Kathryn’s passion, but God had my whole heart, and in time I grew in compassion as I allowed Him to change me and mature me in love. I got to know my children and validate their interests and their uniqueness. This was my role as a loving mother who wanted God’s best for my children’s purposes. My heart’s desire was that each one grow into their own identity, able to explore their unique purpose according to God’s design for them—a true Spirit-led path, with God’s handiwork recognized with each step of the way.

In the early years of Kathryn’s pursuits, I was blessed to witness her release compassion many, many times. The Lord used the natural world of His creation to teach her so many character and relational lessons that overflowed into other areas of her life as well.

As she matured in her family relationships, she extended compassion and friendship toward less fortunate teenagers. All the years of releasing compassion toward the childhood world she so dearly loved and understood actually prepared her for real adult life.

As a mother, it would have been so easy to steer her away from “less important” objects of compassion to point her toward people who were in need before she was ready to give out of her own heart to strangers. Instead, the Holy Spirit provided guiding wisdom along the way in how to build her character through her interest in animals, while also holding out a vision of outreach to people He brought our way.

As I obeyed the Lord’s wisdom in Kathryn’s spiritual training, He gave directly to Kathryn as well through conviction of how to balance and prioritize her interests, and He gave to her through spiritual dreams about people she knew and even at times people she only knew about. This served to more intimately connect her in spirit to His heart’s desire, teaching her how to pray for others outside of her family. He provided insights to people’s needs and opened her heart to others. Kathryn’s family relationships were nurtured in principles of self-sacrificial love, forming in her wisdom and understanding. As a compassionate young woman who still loves animals today, still rescues animals in need, has even trained other people’s dogs, she also offers help to strangers in need when she can, making friends all along the way (each opportunity a God story of its own that I’ll save for another time).

As to any vocations her interest in animals yielded in her young adult life, Kathryn had several Holy Spirit opportunities opened to her that she never had to go out and find. At 17 she was offered a job at a large horse facility receiving advanced horsemanship lessons in trade for her care and exercising of horses (lasted 18 months). Later when she published her first book, True Adventures with Nature (age 17), a wildlife veterinarian (who’d been given a copy of Kathryn’s new book by her intern with whom Kathryn had become acquainted at the supermarket checkout) offered her a job at our county’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. This was an exciting opportunity that Kathryn (having just turned 18) sadly had to turn down due to our impending move out of the area to our own property in Eatonville. We prayed together, and I assured her that God would open another door, and He did shortly after we settled there! After a couple of farm visits from the local vet, who observed and remarked on Kathryn’s mature nursing skills, he offered her a job.

This wasn’t just any old job of cleaning animal cages! His instruction was generous and, except for surgery, he had her doing everything animal-related in his office. She had the privilege of assisting him in surgery while he explained what he was doing, in addition to prepping animals for surgery, developing x-rays, giving injections, and sterilizing equipment. This 18-month season, further served to solidify in Kathryn’s mind what she really wanted to do with regards to the many skills and talents (including the non-animal related ones) she had developed throughout her life and how they would fit together for future purpose. She learned that she didn’t want to become a veterinarian caring for other people’s sick pets, but wanted to continue to always have animals in her life and help to rescue abandoned ones. Much later she helped another veterinarian to rescue and care for dozens of abandoned goats, and still has a desire to rehabilitate abused horses and train them for enjoyment in families with young children.

We can all take a lesson from this single example of one girl’s love for the animal world. Are you helping your children to get ready for real life or are their lives being filled up with assignments and duty? God has placed so much in their hearts that He wants to release. As a caring parent, you can lead your children to care about something outside of themselves. The seed of their interest or the object that will release their compassion is within them already. It’s in your family’s lifestyle and your children’s playtime interests where their passion lies. Children want to practice for real life! Allow them to tap into the interests and opportunities that are already there and then wisely bring character training into the picture. Children already have giving and caring hearts; they just need to find expression.

I urge you, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” (Zechariah 4:10). In the above story of the little girls who wanted to give names and identities to the unwanted misfits of the stuffed animal world, the Holy Spirit will continue to instruct and guide their little hearts so they continue to grow larger if mom will have a listening heart…make no mistake about it.

I wrote a 12-page eArticle for new members of LOLACHE. “Your Child’s Individuality and Unique Creative Profile” will help you take a closer look at how God made your children. Your children are pre-disposed toward their vocation as they’re guided to tap into their rich reservoir of God-given raw materials and release creativity.

May you be richly blessed helping your children practice for real life.

So grateful in the Lord’s service!
Marilyn Howshall for Lifestyle of Learning™ Ministries

(I wish to thank Teri Patterson of Wenatchee, WA for sharing her girls’ delightful story.)

 

[Lifestyle of Learning™/LOLACHE eNewsletter ~ January 11, 2012, Issue 6]