Time

"When will I be 9 Mama?" Hannah asks. "I can't wait any longer!"

Life is fast these days. We talk about how fast the months and years go by, how fast the kids grow. We like life fast; fast food, fast Internet, fast service-no waiting. We want everything now.

I can be a lot like that. I want tomorrow so I can do this or that, I want the kids to go through one phase or another. I fly through my days not even realizing what I did, what I ate, what I thought, how I lived.

Little faces of my beloved children ask how much longer-to the restaurant, to the park, to their next birthday. Heavy sighs come, to long, can't wait any longer!

Looking back, some things came slowly. A little longer nap, a little less food, a few shallow breaths. Why so slow that we didn't notice?

Why are we so caught in the rush of life that we don't see the creeping of death?

Time goes to fast, and it needs to slow down. We don't know how much time we have left with him, a month, a year, a day? It won't be enough time. I am trying to stop ticking off the days in an endless blur of movement. How do I stop the moments to make them lasting memories? I focus on making the pictures of real life stay in my head.

Life has seasons, times, changes.

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.


How do I learn to laugh and dance in a season of mourning? If I slow down, will I see the moments, the miracles in the flying of time? I need to catch the real living in the time of dying, the gradual decline. To really see the last things, the first times, the sweetness of love and laughter.

To savor the sacred moments of life.

God fills every day with holy, sacred moments. These are the real living, the things that will last through the declining.

Purpose of Parenting

At church, a small group study was begun on a book entitled Parent Fuel by Barry St. Clair. We had the privilege of having him speak at our church a few weeks ago. It was an amazing time. Parenting is a difficult challenge. It is the one job in life that has no job description, no resources, no rule book or manual, and no pay check either. However, God did give us a lot of help in his Word.

As a parent, I need a purpose. Many parents probably don't sit down long enough to think about what their purpose is in raising their children. Some would say things such as, "to make them productive citizens", or "to raise them right", maybe your is to have them avoid the mistakes you made. What about this purpose from Deuteronomy 6:5-7-

"Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. "

Is there a better or more straight forward parenting purpose?

If I love God with all that I am, won't everything else with my children (and my life) fall into place. It is not about teaching our children rules or certain behaviors or expectations. All this will lead to wandering and rebellion. It is about teaching them to serve the Lord and hear his voice, to have a heart that loves the Lord. This is a task that I cannot hardly grasp, let alone accomplish. However, God longs to accomplish it through me. I pray that I will grow in love with Him more and that my children do the same.