My son is the big 1-0 today.
Ten years ago, I couldn't even imagine this day. I told myself that someday... someday... I will be almost thirty-five, and that I will be the mother of a ten-year-old.
And suddenly, that day has come.
I started this post with the intent to give new parents some witty parental advice, but the more I reflect on the years gone by, I find my thoughts traveling down a different road. I think about my son, and I'm proud of the lessons he has learned, and of the man he is becoming. I'm thankful that he is healthy and strong-- that ALL my children are healthy and strong. I observe how the children interact with each other, and I'm grateful for the loving relationships that will follow them for the rest of their lives. Then my thoughts move to our rental home, my husband's job, my family (including our children's grandparents, aunts, and uncles), our church family, and our homeschooling.
I started this post with the intent to give new parents some witty parental advice, but the more I reflect on the years gone by, I find my thoughts traveling down a different road. I think about my son, and I'm proud of the lessons he has learned, and of the man he is becoming. I'm thankful that he is healthy and strong-- that ALL my children are healthy and strong. I observe how the children interact with each other, and I'm grateful for the loving relationships that will follow them for the rest of their lives. Then my thoughts move to our rental home, my husband's job, my family (including our children's grandparents, aunts, and uncles), our church family, and our homeschooling.
Gratitude washes over me.
I look back over the past decade, and I cannot tell you how we got here. I mean, I can describe the circumstances that led up to finding our house, working for our church, etc., but I know that none of it was our doing. My husband and I never strove to be successful. Yet we find ourselves richer than we have ever been before.
Christian Canadian hockey star Paul Henderson once said, "I always thought Christians were the weak people. When you can't make in life then you have to ask God. I really prided myself on being a self-made man." But what happens when the plan goes awry? What happens when your body starts attacking itself in the form of cancer, as in the case of Mr. Henderson? We think we hold so much in our hands, only to discover that our hands are empty.
A self-made man can look back on his life and tell you exactly what he did to get to where he is today. I am humbled by the fact that I can look back and tell you exactly how God got me to where I am today.
I look back over the past decade, and I cannot tell you how we got here. I mean, I can describe the circumstances that led up to finding our house, working for our church, etc., but I know that none of it was our doing. My husband and I never strove to be successful. Yet we find ourselves richer than we have ever been before.
Christian Canadian hockey star Paul Henderson once said, "I always thought Christians were the weak people. When you can't make in life then you have to ask God. I really prided myself on being a self-made man." But what happens when the plan goes awry? What happens when your body starts attacking itself in the form of cancer, as in the case of Mr. Henderson? We think we hold so much in our hands, only to discover that our hands are empty.
A self-made man can look back on his life and tell you exactly what he did to get to where he is today. I am humbled by the fact that I can look back and tell you exactly how God got me to where I am today.
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