What a glorious morning on the front porch with Jesus!
The temperature is perfect and with each sip of my coffee I utter praise to my
amazing God for His sovereignty and grace!
On my heart this morning....mamas! This is the time of
year when the summer dies down and we moms are getting so teary and sentimental
as we prepare to send our babies out into the world for another year of school.
Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school and in my new
world....college. Some mamas are even experiencing the newness of their
"babies" heading out of school and into "real life". The
world is scary. The world is dark. Anxieties can be high because our babies are
growing way too fast.
So what are we to do?
We pray! We trust! We prepare them! We have faith in
God!
I look at those precious faces of my three blessings
and praise God for the honor and privilege of being their mother. I celebrate
each phase of their lives because as God entrusted those blessings to Matt and
me years ago, He did so with the understanding that we would train and guide
them to eventually leave our nest and begin nests of their own. So every year
is preparation for that. Yes, even in preschool!
It does go by fast! As Ben prepares for his first day
of college I know that our time with him in our nest is getting shorter and
shorter. Callie is beginning her high school years and Caleb is on the brink of
middle school. The years go quickly but I don't want to live in tears of what
is going by. I want to live in celebration of all our time gone by, the present
time and of all that God has for them in their futures!
So, we savor every moment and we tuck each blessed
memory into our souls. We grab hold of opportunities to instill God's Word in
every portion of their lives because when they know the truth, they will be
better equipped to face the lies. We teach them about this dark world and train
them how to arm themselves with God's Word to maneuver through and be shining
lights in the darkness. We teach them the power of prayer and how it is the
lifeline to develop their personal and intimate relationships with their
Savior. We teach them life skills so they can, one day, be able to manage their
own families. We teach them to love and be kind. We teach them about respect
for authority and for others. We model servanthood so they can also serve. We
encourage them to learn from their mistakes and how to handle disappointments.
We teach them that there are consequences for every choice they make, both good
and bad. We teach them about grace and mercy as we learn every day from our
Heavenly Father. We show them the faithfulness of God in our every day lives.
We teach them that though life is not always fair, God is always good. We teach
them that though bad things do happen to good people, God is still sovereign
and He is still on His throne.
O, there is so much to teach, to train, to love. What
an honor it is! So, on those days when I want to freeze time because it goes so
quickly, God reminds me that it will all be okay. Amazing days are still ahead.
Yes, they may be hard. (Teenage years are no joke.) But every day of looking
into the eyes of my children and seeing God at work in their lives gives me
great joy and hope. God reminds me of the incredible blessing I have of being a
part of the wonderful human beings they are and are becoming. I celebrate each
phase of their lives. Though some phases are more difficult than others, I
celebrate the journey because it makes them part of who they will become. I
trust their Maker because they belong to HIM first and foremost and then I fall
on my knees in awe of the blessing of motherhood.
My babies...precious souls!
Thank you, Lord, for those three incredible blessings.
Thank you for the high honor of being mom to Ben, Callie and Caleb. Help me to
grasp hold of the moments and not live in the past. Help me to guide them
through this life through your Word and celebrate their passage in every
season. Each day prepares them for the next and wonderful days are ahead. Even
through the storms, you bring beauty from them. Even through the dark days,
light is on the horizon. Motherhood is tough but it is the greatest job in the
world. So, help me as we begin a new school year. Help me be their encourager,
their cheerleader, their counselor, their guide, their prayer warrior, but most
of all...help me to be the mom that you would have me be. Protect them as they
go out and prepare them for the journey. They are YOURS, precious Lord. I trust
them to YOU and have faith in the days ahead. Amen and amen!
For you, sweet mama reading this, YOU have been prayed
for today! Hold on to each special memory and celebrate each day ahead. You are
doing a GREAT job and God will see you through. Hold fast to His Word and cling
to Him through prayer!
"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is
old he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
Genesis 2:24 (NKJV)
