Jun

Moments for Mom: June 2011

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My daughter came home with her freshman course schedule this week. I almost fainted. I am in complete and utter denial that Sara is going into high school. My son likes to point out that she’ll be able to get her driver’s permit this year. He does that to watch me either tear up or freak out, depending on my mood.

I do not have young children anymore. And there are days when I barely even remember what having young children feels like.

So I’ve got one concept for you today. Cherish. Soak in. Remember. Be intentional. And I say all these things knowing that I’m sure someone said them to me. Knowing that I didn’t always succeed in doing them. But my hope is that you listen more carefully than I did.

It is more than a cliché that time flies. I remember enough about the little kid years to remember that I sometimes thought the day I was in would never end. And now I look back and realize that there are hundreds of days and thousands of moments that I can’t even recall, because they all went so fast.

What I would give for one day – in the middle of my life right now – of going back in time and reliving a typical stay-at-home mommy day with my toddlers. Just one day.

And this is maybe what I would do differently if I could, maybe what I would tell my younger, more tired self…

Your children are absolute gifts. Your children adore you. Your children are watching you. Your children are more important than laundry, than vacuuming, than time on the computer. Your children need you to love them well, need you to mean what you say and say what you mean. Your children need you to love Jesus with all your heart. It’s okay to sit on the couch with them and cuddle for five more minutes…in just a few years, they may not want to do this. In just a few more years, everything will feel different. Just sit. Just watch. Just listen. Just take it all in.

And I’m saying this to myself today as I look down the road and realize that in just a few more years, my kids will be gone, on their own. I still need to just sit, just watch, just listen, just take it all in.

Pray for eyes to see your children the way God does, and then…enjoy them.