Temporary Amnesia

I let out a loud sigh and shake my head in disbelief at the child standing before me.  A breath prayer, "Remind me right now Lord.  Right now I need to be reminded of who you are and how precious he is."

I have amnesia or short term memory loss or something related to a faulty memory because I sometimes forget how cherished this bundle of a boy is, not just to me or to our family but to the one who created him.  I forget that this 30+ lbs of spinning, whirling child whose feet don't frequently still unless he is sleeping or reading, this one who sometimes spins out of control (or maybe it's me that feels like she has lost all control over what he does or what he finds funny or how he interacts with the world around him).  Yes, this one was made this way (woven together in my womb) and entrusted to me to enjoy, to cherish, to treasure for this short time in this earthly skin.  This tiny package that kisses me a million times when I pick him up from school, who flexes his arm muscles to impress his daddy and anyone else he can catch looking bears God's image.  He who grins from ear to ear with pride that he can read 3  letter  short vowel words these days IS cherished.  This little prince who still insists I am the girl he will marry someday and who plucks flowers for pretty girls and elderly women in our neighborhood, "just to make them smile," and finds heart shaped rocks he can bestow to his sister with love. . . he. . . this amazing child. .  is beloved to God. And truth tells me that he who sometimes (always at the most inconvenient of times) behaves as if his MIDDLE name were a 4 letter acronym that except for in the dark while we are lying in bed whispering, we are afraid to name out loud, in fear that saying it out loud will attach them behind his given name all to soon and for the rest of his life - yes, it is this little one - he- is - cherished and loved and created in the image of God with a purpose and with gifts to share with this world.  Please don't give him or me "that look".  You know the look.  And please with hold your statements that trigger my amnesia.  The ones that say, "he has A LOT of energy." "Boy, you have your hands full." because we both hear what you are really saying and it's not helpful but actually quite hurtful to this little 5 year old's idea of himself.  We need your  help remembering how uniquely created his is and how cherished he is - we don't need your help forgetting.  We do that just fine on our own.  Please help us to remember to see that he too is an image bearer of God - because he is.  He truly is and I can not bare to think of what this world would be like without him.