The other day when we showed Willemien this picture she was very surprised. "Look, the baby is doing just fine, and I am talking." You see, she was convinced (even after this had happened) that she could not hold or take care of a baby. When she was a child, just before a family picture (nephews and nieces included), her mother told her that she could not hold a baby (with the idea that the baby would be in trouble and that Willemien was not made of the right stuff).
Willemien and Cor never had children. Somewhere in her head were still the words and thought of her mother - she couldn't handle babies. Even after holding Joelle on this day (this is the youngest of one of our members in Maastricht), she didn't think she could do this. When she saw the picture, saw that the baby looks quite comfortable, and that she is actually doing it, she believed it possible.
I want to be careful that I am encouraging my children, being aware that even the smallest thing I say may have quite an impact on them as they continue to grow.
