Equipping my kids, with what????

I pick my older two, ages 6 and 7, up from the bus stop every day. Almost immediately the stories begin, the drama of kindergarten and first grade is unreal! Stories filled with laughter and silly gestures, stories of students bullying, stories of teachers bullying. Some told with smiles and giggles, flushed cheeks as they mention their "crush", some told with tears pouring down their faces, eyes begging please don't send me back, stories told sheepishly as they fear getting in trouble for the mischief they caused at school. Everyday it's something new, I never know how to prepare myself, I just have to get my game face straight before I get them. I try not to give away what I'm thinking as they fill the van with their chatter about the day.

I have to wonder at times, "Am I doing this right? Am I preparing them properly? What tools do they still need? Am I properly equipping them?"  Who/what do I want them to be, how do I want them to behave and react/respond to their surroundings?

I'm finding more and more everyday that some of these questions really don't and can't have an etched in stone answer. I can't decide these things for them, I can't tell them who they'll be, I can't control how they react/respond! Don't get me wrong, I want to, every controlling part of my being is bursting at it's seams just dying to jump out of my skin and tell them exactly who they will be and how they will behave! All I can do is equip them, and pray for them. Then the question is "Equip them with what?" I imagine it's different for each...

So now it's onto trying to answer that question. I can't control who they become, but I do have some say in what type of person they turn out to be! So as I sit tonight, tucking each one in, I ponder, what do I need to equip these little people with? Compassion, empathy, love, kindness, grace, courage, selflessness, boldness, strength... I don't know, maybe there is more, but this is my list, this is it for now...

I want them to be open to others, bold enough to stand up for those who can't and to stand firm in what they believe. I want them to feel what others feel, so that they can provide for them what they need, I want them to be strong enough to stand up when they get knocked down, kind enough to love when they feel unloved. I want them to have courage to be different, to go beyond the limits that the world sets on their lives. I want them to be selfless, remembering and believing that it's not about us, or them. I want them to be willing to live a life that may look different, and to find joy in every bit of it.

Maybe this sounds crazy, and you're thinking they are only 6 and 7! My response, I am amazed daily, when they get off that bus and fill our mini van with their stories. I am amazed how perceptive they are, I'm amazed at how much they understand, I am blown away at how much, at 6 and 7, that they are exposed to, the pain they see, the hurt they feel. They understand brokenness, they see that pain in others. I believe they can learn now how to respond to that, they already show a lot of the things on my list. I just need to water that plant, prune the leaves, give it light, keep it warm, allow it to grow...

I would so much rather do this now... Can you imagine, 16 years old and all of a sudden your child is hit with the shock of a life time, a pill too hard for some to swallow. It's not all about them, Gasp.....

I may do a lot wrong in this parenting thing, we all do, but this is one area I REALLY want to get right!