SHALOMER:

one striving for God's reign to come to earth, bringing his peace, wholeness, completeness, and health to all aspects of life.

The Ridiculous Blessing of Parenthood

The title of this post gives away its punch line, but that's okay.  So I've had a frustrating day with my oldest today.  I was home with her during nap time, while my wife took our youngest to the doctor.  Suffice it to say it was more of "battle of the wills afternoon with daddy" than nap time.  Then this evening, on the heels of a day without a nap, the attitude and lack of listening were not good.  After all of this, I was a little frazzled as I prepared to put her to bed.

While I was sitting on the floor facing her, brushing her teeth, I looked into her face and the reality of the situation hit me.  I have an absolutely beautiful 3 year old little girl.  She is incredibly healthy and ridiculously smart.  She is fun and a joy.  And I stopped brushing her teeth right then and just smiled (which I realized in the moment I had not done much of during the hectic day), and gave her a hug and kept telling her how much I loved her, and how precious she was to me.

Needless to say, those hugs and words were the brightest part of our day together.  How often I miss it!  I am blessed beyond words with this wonderful little girl (and now two wonderful little girls), and I am often too busy parenting to see the joys that parenthood (and the Giver of life) has bestowed on me...

If there is one thing I want my children to know from their years with me, it is that they are a part of a bigger story, the story of a Creator who has made everything--even them--and they get to know Him and follow Him and partner with Him to right the wrongs of the world.  And the second thing I want them to know is our deep and unshakeable love for them.  How unfortunate that I get caught up with emphasizing manners and other such things that are important but peripheral...

May our breath be taken away by the wonder of parenthood, and may that wonder lead to a renewed focus on shepherding and loving our children the way God shepherds and loves us...

1 comments:

Emily February 10, 2010 at 10:41 AM  

so very true!!!

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