Have you ever taken a moment since you've become a mom to think about -- I mean REALLY think about -- what you want to accomplish in the 18 years you have yours?
I had not. Sadly. Except to say that I hoped for them all the things I didn't have or do. In retrospect, that was honestly A LOT! And now that I've grown up a little in my 9 1/2 years of parenting, I realize that kids today have and do too much. What they really need is to slow down, ease up and learn to live with less. Which is a lesson this grownup is realizing she needs more every day!
On of the many "points well taken" I wrote down from the Hearts at Home conference in the spring was to decide "what matters most to me as a mom."
Recently, it occurred to me that if after 18 years my children can learn to:
1. Love God
2. Serve God
3. Listen to God
4. Obey God
then I'm calling the mommyhood thing a success!
Because when I honestly evaluated everything else I REALLY, REALLY wanted for my kids, I realized those desires all came from list of four.
I want my kids to be happy, give freely, love deeply, learn from their mistakes and life's mishaps, extend grace, rely on faith, forgive and be patient. Life is an adventure. It's a process, and if we rush to what we think is the "prize" (a career, a house, money, a car, a vacation, retirement?) too quickly, we'll have discovered that what the world tells us is the "prize" might turn out hollow and disappointing. We are filled with a God-shaped void for a reason!
Life is about building relationships -- with God and with others. That's not something that just happens, and so I hope I teach my children to slow down, do their best and enjoy every step of the way. They have already taught me so much, it's the least I could do!
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