Somewhere along this path of parenting, my personality strings got wound up so tight that I find myself growling at my kids more than laughing with them; sighing, instead of engaging; looking for escape routes and not grabbing those little hands to skip down this road of growing up together. We are all growing up, really- not just the little people. Growing up is hard...so is parenting. And it's all easier when we don't have to do it alone.
So, let's all laugh a little more and enjoy the seriously peaceful, happy moments (and maybe even a little of the crazy messy ones too)!
Coloring pictures. Watching Saturday movies. Eating popcorn and candy corn. Teaching baton twirling. Letting them sleepover in the playroom. Giving them glow-in-the-dark baths. Taking a trip to the pumpkin patch.
It was a hot, sunshiny day at the pumpkin patch!
Look at those rosy cheeks!
My big girl
These kids play hard!
Showing the other kids how it's done.
This post is to simply "mark the moment," as I like to say. I
had a really good weekend with my kids. I slowed my pace to watch them,
have silly conversations, and make some fun happen!
This is a giant leap of faith. I'm trusting and trying to embrace The fear of the unknown Beyond my comfort zone. - Francesca Battistelli
This isn't a new song, but I find that it cycles through one of my Pandora stations often and speaks to the season I'm in right now.
When my husband and I decided to make this recent move to a new city, a new state, I went through a mental process of crossing off a list of all my previous plans. I thought they were such good goals for myself and my kids, for what ministries I would be a part of, and the paths our family envisioned ourselves strolling down.
Unexpectedly, I had to let go of the life I had planned and move forward with the hope that maybe there was an even better future for us and even better dreams.
It means, though, that I don't know what's ahead.I am sort of closing my eyes and taking a scary, but exhilarating leap off a cliff into strange waters. A leap of faith.
But if there wasn't a little bit of fear, the jump wouldn't require trust or faith. We don't often call on God when our feet are on the ground and the road is paved and predictable.
So what do we do when we're standing on the edge, afraid of what will happen next? I remind myself of the same thing I tell my kids: God is with you wherever you go (Genesis 26:24, Genesis 31:3, Exodus 3:12, Joshua 1:5, 1 Kings 11:38, Isaiah 43:2...).
You don't have to leap alone.
We may have to let go of our plans and our fears,
but He will never let go of our hand.
