March 14, 2023

Saying Yes

Read: Exodus 35:30-35

The most important things my parents ever gave me are the space to try, and the space to create.

As kids, we’d want to paint our bedrooms crazy colors once a year. They’d hand us a brush and roller, and let us. When we’d envision something cool we wanted to build, my dad would help us drum up supplies, encourage, and help. When we grew to ask for power tools, he’d teach us and show us the safe way. We got a lot of support and hardly a no. As an adult, my dad’s workshop is still one of my favorite places to be.

As a parent of curious and creative children, I am often reminded of the freedom my parents gave, and I think of it with appreciation and a smile. There is so much power in saying “Yes” to our children; in allowing them the space to try, the space to do, and the space to create.
May we be reminded of the childlike curiosity God has poured into each and every one of us. May we nurture it in ourselves and in our children. May we have the patience to say “Yes” more.

Yes to playing in the mud, and made up science experiments, yes to experimenting with the hammer and wood, and yes to crazy paint colors.

I am thankful to my parents for all the yeses. and for their God-given patience with six curious and creative children. I am who I am because I could create, and because I still do.

Emily Bianchi