The other day I was trying to get the last of my list of "things" done around the house and my three year old seemed to be everywhere I went. I went downstairs with a load of laundry and he was by my side. I went back upstairs to make up clean beds and guess who was there to help? I went back downstairs to carry up a pile of folded clothes and yes, he was still there. I don't see this as a bad thing, in fact, five "three year-olds" later, I still love it. But this particular morning I felt that I needed to just finish - so I said to him, "Can you just go upstairs and play Lego with the others while Mommy finishes this?" To which a sweet face looked up at me and said, "But Mommy, I want to follow you!"
If I was a country singer, I would have written a song right there and then - but I am not. So I want to try to express my thoughts in my heart as I think of my little man and each of our five who have grown so fast.
Everyone tells you to hold on tight cause they grow up fast, or savour every moment cause it will be over before you know it. I really have listened to that advice and I feel like I have done my best to savour each moment, but at first it did not go that fast. I have loved being a stay at home mom since the start but the early days were slower...we had time to wander and look at bugs, colour on the floor and build big towers. Now it seems that the demands of a family of seven of us do not allow the spaciousness I enjoyed in those early days...and yes, it is going faster. I wouldn't trade a moment of all I have enjoyed and there is still much more ahead, but it is those early years I am thinking of. When my three year-old said he wanted to follow me, I realized again that I want him to, not just now but in the future, as well. Which means I need to be available - it paints a very small picture of how God is always available to each of us.
The early years often mean you don't do anything alone - you go to the bathroom with a toddler, you do dishes with a baby in a infant seat, you go for walks with a stroller - it demands a lot of energy. And so it should ... if we want our children to grow into mature teens and adults who want to "follow us" than we had better be sure we are letting them "follow us" when they are young too.
I want to be like Mary, who in all the excitement around Jesus' birth, could only store those precious moments away in her heart. Luke 1:19 says, "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." I am doing lots of treasuring and pondering and I am so thankful for these with which we are blessed!
If I was a country singer, I would have written a song right there and then - but I am not. So I want to try to express my thoughts in my heart as I think of my little man and each of our five who have grown so fast.
Everyone tells you to hold on tight cause they grow up fast, or savour every moment cause it will be over before you know it. I really have listened to that advice and I feel like I have done my best to savour each moment, but at first it did not go that fast. I have loved being a stay at home mom since the start but the early days were slower...we had time to wander and look at bugs, colour on the floor and build big towers. Now it seems that the demands of a family of seven of us do not allow the spaciousness I enjoyed in those early days...and yes, it is going faster. I wouldn't trade a moment of all I have enjoyed and there is still much more ahead, but it is those early years I am thinking of. When my three year-old said he wanted to follow me, I realized again that I want him to, not just now but in the future, as well. Which means I need to be available - it paints a very small picture of how God is always available to each of us.
The early years often mean you don't do anything alone - you go to the bathroom with a toddler, you do dishes with a baby in a infant seat, you go for walks with a stroller - it demands a lot of energy. And so it should ... if we want our children to grow into mature teens and adults who want to "follow us" than we had better be sure we are letting them "follow us" when they are young too.
I want to be like Mary, who in all the excitement around Jesus' birth, could only store those precious moments away in her heart. Luke 1:19 says, "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." I am doing lots of treasuring and pondering and I am so thankful for these with which we are blessed!
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