Well, it’s been a VEEEEEERRRRRRRYYYYYYY long time since my
last blog entry. So long, in fact, that I considered just deleting the previous
posts and starting over…Being the perfectionist that I am, I have a hard time
when things aren’t done well, and with such a huge gap, that to me says “not
done well!” Oh well…*sigh*
Anyway, there have been a number of things that have
happened in my life since I last blogged.
I’m just going to jump in where I’m at, rather than bore you with all
the details...
I am currently in a season where
God has placed a number of people with very serious situations in my midst. This leaves me asking many questions. What is
my role? Am I just
supposed to be an ear to listen? A
shoulder to cry upon? Am I to be a prayer
warrior? An influencer through words or
actions? A witness? Or am I to just mind my own business? What is God trying to show me in all this?
As I ponder these circumstances, one of the truths that God is showing me, is that I need to cherish the moments that seem to slip by, unnoticed, as I'm trying to get to the next "thing" in life. I am always hurrying through my day/week/month/year to get to the next phase. But, why? When I do that, I miss out on the little things that make life more enjoyable, and the struggles less painful!
For example... Kendall will only be 3 for another 6 months...then age 3 is gone, and it will never be the same again. Pretty soon she won't be excited about eating "strawberries and 'pinealopes' (pineapples)" with supper or having pretend sleepovers with her imaginary kids, bringing me tea in her little pink teacup set, or showing me her latest dance moves on the Wii!
Brock will be 6 in June. 5 will be a distant memory of him explaining the logic and reasoning behind why a pancake is called a pancake, and practicing his "Bald Bull" boxing moves in his underpants will be a treasured memory that I won't soon forget. His sweet silliness is just what this mommy should treasures most her boy. But how much longer will that snuggly little underpants boy be my snuggly little underpants boy?!
Or how Alexandra, already at age 7, only allows me to snuggle with her when she feels like it... and most certainly not in front of her friends. Ugh! Where did my precious little baby girl go? It seems like such a short time ago I was terrified, bringing home my firstborn, and now she's already reading books meant for a third grader, choreographing her own dances with her best friend Madisyn, and talking about how she's going to always live with her baby sister and take care of me and Sean when we are old. I think I might just hold her to that one!
When I think of how fragile life is, and how in an instant life as we know it can change it's course, it's sad to think that we let life pass us by without truly appreciating the beauty in those small moments. I'm committing to making a conscious choice to savor each bite that life serves me. There will be bites that aren't as paletable as others. That's ok. I'm not going to let those bites spoil the rich, delicious ones that are nestled among them! It makes the sweet treats all the more enjoyable! I won't always succeed, but I will pick myself up again and recommit when I fall.
I love the image that author, Priscilla Shirer of The Resolution for Women uses as a parallel. She writes, "I snapped out of my momentary trance and looked down at my plate. No more full bites left. Just chocolate syrup lacing the bottom, along with tiny crumbs of spongy cake dotted with miniscule dollops of whipped cream. With new resolve I started scraping up everything I could salvage, not wanting to leave behind any part of this delicious experience...Glad I didn't miss anything on my plate. Promising never again to miss anything in my life." You see, as she was focused on the "next thing," she had eaten most of her decadent dessert without even bothering to enjoy those delicious bites. What a waste of calories, huh? ;)
How many times have I done that with my days?
How many times have you woken up in the morning only to say to yourself, "if I can just make it until nap-time, then I'll be ok." Or, "If I can just get through this week, then I can spend some quality time with my kids." We miss out on so many great things along the way!
Friends, let's scrape our plates clean and savor every morsel of joy there is!
...ok, now I'm hungry for some Molten Chocolate Cake...
