Exceptional

When you make the conscious decision to raise exceptional humans…

Exceptionally kind.

Exceptionally good.

Exceptionally full of Grace.

Exceptionally wise.

Exceptionally loving.

Exceptionally patient.

Exceptionally forgiving.

Exceptionally understanding. 

Exceptionally compassionate.

Exceptionally ___________.

Remember, that the world will treat them otherwise. In this, there is grave disappointment and hurt. They will never be treated the way they treat others—and thank God for that. 

In this hard lesson, and let’s be honest, repeated lessons—they learn more from disappointment and frustration than they ever did from compassion or kindness. They learn a hurt so deep that they never want to pass that sadness along to another. They hurt for others. They speak up for others. They take all that pain, poison and sadness and they put it back into the world, in a way that makes them shine a light so bright, that it’s nearly gravitational. 

If your only achievement in this world is loving your children well, then please, do that. 

Raise the kid who commits and shows up. Raise the nice kid who stands up to bullies for someone else, even if they sacrifice themself. 

Raise the kid who stands with the loner. 

Raise the kid who is nice to everyone, not because they want something, but because they are inherently nice. 

Raise the kid who participates in something that they aren’t 100% into, to honor another. 

Raise the kid who jumps in to help when it’s needed, without the expectation that the favor is returned. 

Raise the kid who can find one good thing to say about anyone, even when they seem undeserving. 

Raise the kid who’s so good, that the goodness often goes unreturned. Gravitational, send them into the world to shine bright regardless of circumstance. Converse about the hardness of this world, and make them understand the light comes from within them.