TIME

Children spell love with the letters T-I-M-E, and the more time you spend with your child, the more he or she will feel loved. Most of us parents prefer doing what we want to do to doing what our children want to do. With Clarissa, I learned to give up what I loved to do most — doing business.
When I quit working, I realized that it was the best
decision I’d ever made for my family. For a while I thought that home-schooling her would mean letting go of all my dreams, but God helped me see beyond that. I discovered a certain kind of joy that I could never experience from doing business.
Investing time for our child entails sacrifice,
but God rewards us for every effort we make for our
child.

We must view time as an investment. Since children with
special needs require more patience and attention, we are
to make them our priority over our work and our activities.
Quality time means giving your child undivided attention.
It doesn’t mean just sitting beside each other on the couch
and watching television together, although there
may be times when you do just that. It means looking at
each other, and talking. It means taking your child for a
walk in the park or going out to eat together. Your undivided
attention is a powerful communication of love.

Since deciding to pull Clarissa out of school and tutor her myself,
I have been learning how to spend quality time with her. I
now spend the time teaching her, playing,
taking a walk with her in the park, and many times praying
with her. I give her my undivided attention. When it’s time
for me to do my chores or attend Bible study and Praying
Wife sessions at church, I take her with me. She also helps

me do the groceries so even grocery-shopping has become
a learning experience for her.

Bathing Clarissa is also one way of spending quality time
together. Taking a shower with her has always been fun; it’s
also my way of teaching her how to bathe properly. Eating
meals together is her favorite activity. She loves to eat with
me, and I often take her out for lunch or have a special
snack with her every Friday. Friday is often our movie day
too. We go to the movies just by ourselves and we love to
eat popcorn while watching.

Of course, our favorite activity is painting. I realized that
Clarissa enjoys painting with me because
she has all my attention and we interact closely. It’s
amazing how she understands the enjoyment of our time
together. It’s also humbling that she is the better artist!

This is not like me. I used to be so busy with work; just “hanging out” and doing nothing was not “my kind of thing.” I was a businesswoman! I loved helping to provide for my family. But when I came
to know the Lord, He changed me and transformed my life. And through my daughter Clarissa, He taught me many lessons on how to live and enjoy life.