Mr. Middle

Mr. Middle. Elijah Kelly. Man, I love him. He is sweet, funny, and precious. He is fairly compliant. If you explain why something needs to be a certain way, he usually acquieces and moves on. He has a special place in most of my girlfriends' hearts because of his unique way of expressing himself. He's a cutie! But. . .

falling in line like he does, he is often overlooked a bit. He doesn't draw attention to himself by acting out. He goes with the flow. Joshua and JCT are involved in sports and school and other activities that make the attention of our family gravitate toward them. And, then, Eriky D., well, he never suffers from lack of attention because he is the baby (for now! :-), and he is two years old ~ and a curious two year old he is. Therefore, he consumes a good bit of my attention. For months I have tried to make conscious efforts to lift Lije up and draw him out and put the attention on him. But, honestly, it is hard and takes a good deal of effort because the attention naturally falls elsewhere. Until recently. . .

Lije has developed a problem, an obstacle, bless his heart ~ it is breaking mine! And, now, he is the main topic of Erik and my conversation a lot of the time. He is at the forefront. He needs our help, our attention, and he is getting it. Because of his little problem, we have had to slow down, stop what we are doing and give him our undivided attention throughout the day.

And, as I sat, on the edge of JCT's bed last night, watching my three big boys sleeping peacefully, I prayed for my Lije. And, as I prayed and begged God to remove this obstacle or to help him quickly through it, He whispered to my heart the blessing of the thorn. Now, there is nothing good about the struggle he is facing each day, but the blessing is found in the fact that this struggle has forced us to slow down and give him a little extra attention. And, I am so thankful for that.