IMAGINE

     We hang their pictures on our walls.  We tuck them into bed each night.  We care for them when their sick and laugh with them when they're well.  God has designed us to care about our children with all the passion He's placed within us.  And yet, do we ever stop and IMAGINE?  Imagine what it feels like to be them?

     I'd wriggled under one of my daughter's cozy pink blankets a little while ago, waiting for her to get ready for bed, and a question jumped into my mind and slapped me in the face . . . What does it feel like to be my daughter? 

     Then, other questions followed -- What does it feel like to be my son?  How did it feel to live in our house today?   Did they feel truly cared for as I rushed around with busyness?  Heat rose in my cheeks as I sadly reflected on a few ways I'd hurried through the day instead of savouring those closest to me.

     That moment deeply affected my outlook.  I began to watch for other opportunities with my other children . . . how does it feel to be YOU right now?  I didn't ask it out loud, but began to imagine what I would feel like if I were in their shoes at various moments in the day.

     You already know what comes next, don't you?  It's not always pretty.  God seems to surface the question to my heart over and over, as if to say, "Would you want to be treated this way?  Would you feel treasured if someone you loved brush past that fast?  Would you want to be spoken to with that tone?"


     I'm not advocating perfect parenting, because that isn't achievable by anyone except our Heavenly Father, but I am promoting PAUSE -- IMAGINE -- RESPOND.


     Just stopping for a few breaths in the day, to examine how our children must feel in the moment, to be part of our homes where God has chosen them to be.  Remember . . . they didn't choose us; they were placed in our arms by God's provident design!

     As we rush about this month (and every other one ahead), let's pause to imagine how it feels for them today. 

     Respond with all the love, or grace, or energy God would want us to.  None of us want to experience the irony of losing out on the quality of daily, precious moments with our children because we are so busy preparing for future days to be special!  Ask God to bring the balance -- and the tenderness to our hearts -- for these sweet, and sometimes not so sweet, ones we love most of all.

"Imagine a person who lives

well, treating others fairly,

keeping good relationships...

This person who lives upright

and well shall live a full and true life."

Ezekiel 18:5&9