I recently learned a new term as it was gaining popularity among young people on social media. Glass Child. The glass child is the sibling of someone with high demand needs. A glass child has a brother or sister with emotional, mental, physical, or medical needs that tend to take up a lot of parental energy. Now to be clear, the glass part of a glass child is not meant to imply they are fragile. In fact, quite often the opposite is true.
The glass child often tries to be strong and self-sufficient so that they are not a “burden” to their family. So why the glass part? Glass is see– through. You can look through glass and not even realize it’s there. Ever walked into a squeaky– clean glass door? When I came across this term my heart sank. I have tried to be very intentional about meeting the needs of all of my children, but it is just a fact that my childhood cancer fighter requires a whole lot of my time and care.
A couple of weeks ago, my 6-year-old son and I came down with a nasty stomach virus. We both, almost synchronously, started with nausea and vomiting in the middle of night. We felt horrible. At about 4 a.m., I stood beside my son as he got sick in the bathroom trashcan, and I mumbled a prayer. I said, “Dear God, please don’t let Caroline get this.” My son panted and sighed and said, “…And please help me to get better.” And I felt time freeze for a second and a wave of dizziness hit unrelated to the stomach virus I was fighting. I had just glass child-ed him. I was standing with him as he threw up, and I saw right through him. My mind and prayers immediately went to my medically fragile child who is quickly prone to hypoglycemia.
In my head, I knew my son would fight this virus, and I also knew that this same virus would likely land my daughter in the hospital that we had just come home from a few days prior. My son heard me pray for protection over his sister, and with no bitterness in his heart, he went to God with his own request for healing. I hugged him, prayed for him, and then settled in with him for a long night of illness for both of us. And when he dozed off, I cried. I cried because I realized my best efforts for my children still fall so short of perfection.
And as I cried, God comforted me with the following thought..
Isn’t it amazing that God has no glass child. What a comforting and peaceful thought. Our God can see every single one of us with an unfathomable clarity that never looks through us and our needs and desires. He does not even have to evenly divide his attention as a human parent strives to do. God’s Word tells us that the knowledge and understanding of the Lord is beyond measure! (Psalm 147:5) In a way that is too unfathomable for our human mind, God can show up for each of us as if we are His only child. He can see and hear every single one of his children as though no other is in need. He never has to ignore the prayers for a child fighting a tummy bug because He must instead give his attention to a child fighting a life-threatening illness. God can see both! God is entirely able to give undivided focus to the needs of His children, including the grown up ones.
“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” – Psalm 147:5 ESV
MOPS Clinton, Mo
Rachel Wilson is a mom and wife currently living in Missouri. She loves sharing what God has taught her by posting on her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RachelAnnetteAboundingGrace .
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