Each Child Unique

We light our Christ candle on Sunday mornings and use it as an occasion to ask for Christ's presence in the personal events of the lives of our members, both celebrative and sad.

This past Sunday I was faced with an interesting challenge. Two children had birthdays on the same day. The boy wanted his birthday acknowledged while the girl didn't. The difficulty was that they are twins. How could I mention the brother's birthday and not the sister's? At the last moment she changed her mind, much to my relief.

It was a strong reminder that each child is an individual and unique. They have very personal tastes and traits, the way adults do. Those of us who are parents of several children certainly learn this and we wonder how our kids can be so different when they are raised in the same household.

We tend toward a "pack mentality" when we address children in the church and assume they are all the same. We speak of them as our future when what they need is to recognized for who they are in the present. They are important in Christ's family, one person at a time.