Change! Anyone here LOVE it?
As a mom of three, I can’t tell you how glorious it is to finally be at the stage in life, when sleeping into 8 am., feels like I am staying at a hotel away from my kids when I wake up. My youngest is going to be 5 years old in a few days, and I feel like I can celebrate so many things about this age!
To name a few, I am completely in the clear of diapers, baby foods, potty training, and sleepless nights (unless they are sick)! No more throw up messes down my shirts, he can speak clearly, so no more guessing what he wants. I don’t have those ‘helicopter mom’ feelings of hovering over him every time he does something, especially since he’s the last kid. He’s basically self-sufficient by this point and can write his name!
In the fall, all three kids will be in school!! KINDERGARTEN…. Here comes my third and final child!! Wahooo….I cannot wait! This means no more full-time child care -- ever!! Doesn’t this sound like I need to have a celebration!? And for all you moms and dads who are not in the clear yet, trust me …. it will come and you won’t even know it until it happens. It’s a blink. (You may be rolling your eyes at me right now, but it’s the truth!)
All kidding aside, it sounds like once they get older they won’t need me anymore but the thing is, they do. I have a thirteen and ten-year-old daughter, too, and trust me ---they still need me. Maybe not to make them their PB&J sandwiches with the crust cut off them or to tie shoes, but they still need me. Here’s the catch, the needs change as they grow and it’s always a trial and error ---- because no two kids are exactly alike.
I also hope this story, reaches those who do not have kids either. No matter if you have kids or not, you are needed. You will always be needed by somebody because you are a “somebody” to someone!
Sometimes when I am walking my walk, it’s hard to see how God is going to use me in the day or on the flip side, see how God used me in my day. Therefore here’s what I want to remember to ask God before my feet hit the ground in the morning:
“God, how can I be used by you? Where do you need me? How can I be a blessing or a light to someone else today?”
Although my kids are changing and there is much to be celebrated as they grow, there are new challenges up ahead. Still, I ask, How can I be a blessing to them? How can I parent them well, today? (I may have to ask this more than once throughout the day, because most days it unravels, at some point!)
My children will learn new things each day and I can’t always jump in and do it for them all the time. There are going to be times that I can jump up and down on their path with a bright neon sign, that says something to encourage, teach, or point them in the right direction to stay on the right path. I hope they read and do the signs that say “BE the kind of LEADER you would want to follow!” “Be kind!” “Be the light!” “Be Love!” “Forgive others! & Forgive yourself!” “Follow your dreams!” “Say your prayers!” “Use your manners!”
But in my heart, whatever advice I give, I pray it would be God speaking through me and not me. What I mean by that is, sometimes my own advice can come from a place of pride, hurt, or insecurity. I want the words that I say to stick! I want the words to take deep roots so that they will be strong when seasons change in their life because their roots were deep and unshaken.
Here’s what I know. The word of God, can stand firm, drive out darkness, encourage, comfort, bring hope, heal, and defeat giants. I pray that the words I speak, the advice I give, comes from love, from light, from God who can be trusted always.
I mean there are going to be times, where my words on my bright posters along their path, they ignore. They will want to create their own path… in their own time… and in their own way. Even if I so badly want to jump in and fix my children’s’ problems, it’s not for me to take the glory and fix it for them! I can offer advice but that doesn’t always mean that they will take it. I can tell my son, don’t jump off the side of the pool because you can slip and fall… but there’s a good chance he won’t listen and do it anyway. Why!? Because he’s a kid…. they are kids.
If I think about it this way, I am a child, too in God’s eyes. I am sure parenting, me, is never easy. I know there are times I have taken a long way around because I wanted to do things, “my way” and not seek the truth or stop to ask for help. There are times I am in the zone and I don’t stop to ask God, “Where am I needed, today?” Yet, God knows me, just like I know my own kids. Thank goodness that God is patient, kind, grace-giving, forgiving, and loving --- SOOOO loving! That wherever I am on my path, He is right there with me. He is right there with my kids and He’s right there with you too. We are still needed!!
I feel like in this season of my life, God is teaching many lessons. Especially a lesson on love. My own kids will be tested and they will be imperfect but I hope they always come back to the truth and know, how greatly loved they are! So great that they know that nothing can separate them from the love of Jesus! Nothing can separate you from the love of Jesus, either!
Our world’s needs are different every day and sometimes I don’t know where I am needed if that makes sense. But I do know that, in any good part of a person’s testimony, story, or movie, is when someone walks in and extends love to another. What the world needs is you.... you loving on others! Love them with a smile, a hug (if you can), a phone call, a listening ear, say words that inspire and bring hope. Love.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Love can change the world. Love came down to be the light in the world. To be the light in us so we can be used to spread love, teach others how to love, and to be love in the world! The more we look to love during times and seasons of change when our children grow, when we grow, as our world grows; may we turn inward to the one that loves us unconditionally, so we can give love without conditions too! It says in God’s word, that Love can cover a multitude of sins. If you ever get in a quarrel, with your sibling, you know that love is the very thing that can bring you back together.
When we choose to love and not hate, that’s being a blessing.
When we choose to not live offended in our hearts and rather choose forgiveness, that’s love.
When we choose to love, we become united.
What does the world need more of?
You!
You, to be the light and to BE LOVE!
Let’s be the city on the hill that shines so bright that it shuts out the darkness!! That’s the path I want my kids to find... for you, and for me too!
Let love in, and watch, it could change the world! It could change your world.
“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank you for your love that loves us unconditionally. Today, I ask how can I be a blessing to others? How can you use me to show the incredible love, you've shown me? Help me to love on my family, friends, and others I encounter with Your unfailing love, that overflows in my heart. I pray that before I respond either to my kids or anyone, that you would flood my mind with ways on how to respond in Your love. I pray that you would be the lamp unto my feet and light unto my path, my children's path, and to others. I pray that as I seek you, you would bless this day.
In Jesus name,
Amen
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