More than 30 years out, I’m here to tell you that it’s true.
When your kids are little, and so not independent, you feel like you will be wiping hinnies, bathing, feeding, cleaning, and refereeing forever.
I remember being so overwhelmed at times. Trying to keep up with 3 little boys and all their antics was no small thing. The exhaustion is only a short memory away.
As a mom you spend your day and dare I say life, giving everything you’ve got to your family. At the end of the loooong day you have– pure exhaustion…mixed in with some satisfaction and a little regret, if you didn’t follow the “what would Jesus do” guideline in all your transactions and judicial dealings around the house.
When my pack was in the preschool stage, I didn’t see an end in sight. My more mature (older!) friends would tell me “it changes so fast, in the blink of an eye they will be grown-up”.
Frankly, I didn’t see it. In my mind’s eye, there was no end, anywhere in sight. I was convinced I would have preschoolers – forever!! I got caught up in the daily grind, in survival mode.
I wanted to raise lovely human beings, full of respect and Godly character, productive and creative, and God-fearing. That was my goal.
And then I blinked.
Oops. I shouldn’t have done that, because it was true. All of a sudden they were grown up and most of my work was done. Luckily I had the same goals for my kids that God did and He picked up the slack and I ended up with lovely human beings. I don’t have many regrets. But, I do wish that I had been a bit more intentional.
Intentional.
Steve says I overuse that word. But it doesn’t just happen magically overnight. If you want to raise a world changer then you are going to have to make choices and do things to that end.
If it is important to you that your child knows the Bible, then you are going to have to read it to him and impart a love for the Word. It doesn’t just happen.
If you are a mom with young-ish children, take hope. Really. Take hope. Here it is. Take it. You ARE doing the work of the Lord by loving, molding, nurturing, training, cleaning, and wiping those precious little hinnies. Do it well and do it intentionally.
To reach a goal, you must have a plan of action. Sit down and plan how you are going to teach your kids to love God and make a difference in this needy world. Then carry out the plan! GO!
And no blinking!
Looking for a community or someone to grab coffee with who is in a similar life season? We’d love to connect with you and get to know you better! Below you will find a few people that can’t wait to meet you, shoot us an email so we can make a plan!
Tyler OJ Campus
Teresa Ator: teresaa@gcc.org
Bethanie Tayler: bethaniet@gcc.org
Tyler UB Campus
Max Heller: maxh@gcc.org
Chrisleigh Heller: chrisleighh@gcc.org
Lindale Campus
Molly Pontius: mollyp@gcc.org
Debra Kirby: debra@gcc.org