Turn Around

 Good morning everyone!

I hope everyone has had a great week! I have. We pulled off a great eclipse event in Jasper County on Monday and yesterday I got to spend the day with my mom, with no doctor visits involved! We were still on a mission, but it was an adventure. I treasure the days I get to spend with my mom. I also treasure days I get to spend with my son and some conversations I have had this week has brought me to this post.

Until Robert was almost 7, I was a stay-at-home mom. That wasn't the original plan but it was God's plan and that was what was important. When we moved to Pennsylvania 6 weeks before he was born, I knew I wasn't gong to trust anyone enough to take care of him. Especially when the first news we heard when we got the tv hooked up was how a babysitter had put a baby in a dryer and killed him. 

I am so glad I had the opportunity and I treasure that as I know there are a lot of families out there that it just can't happen for anymore. I was also fortunate in when I did go back to work, I had one very good babysitter and my mom who took Robert until he was old enough to stay by himself. 

I have so many good memories of things we did. And actually, going back to my own mom, who was able to stay home with me, I have two generation memories. 

One of my favorite little kid memories was sitting on the front step eating lunch with my mom, she would fix my lunch in the summer and bring it out and she and I would sit on the front step and eat it. I was one of those kids that, if it was summer, I wanted to be outside. Probably why I drive a convertible and my two favorite places on my own property is my front porch and the back patio. I also remember my mom doing things with me though. As I got older, we would play Scrabble, or do puzzles. We took walks and of course, we would work. My mom and her brother took care of my grandmother until she died when I was 18. Mom would go to my grandmothers daily and fix lunch so in the summer I would help. That was a good thing because the summer of my junior year, my mom knew she was going to have to go to the hospital as her diabetes was causing some problems and she was holding out until I got out of school so I could take over lunch duties. My mom is very much where my work ethic, as well as my feelings about being responsible comes from. And as I look at Robert, I see he has gotten those same things from me.

I was telling a friend this week about some of the things we did when Robert was little. One thing we used to do was if we were someplace at least 30 minutes away, we would try to get home without getting on any major highways any more than we had to. There was one Saturday afternoon that Robert and I had went to town to get groceries. I was still staying at home so there was a pretty good chance that the bank account wasn't looking great, especially after groceries, but Robert has asked if we could try to get home without the highways. I told him no, we need to get on home, on top of everything else, I was running close on gas. He was fine with it, but I wasn't. we got about a mile out of town and I turned around, went and got $5 in gas and we took our time getting home. We did that game many times but he remembers me turning around.

My friend was telling about similar situations where one of her kids will want to play catch right as she is trying to fix supper. She turns off the stove and plays catch for a few minutes. And it makes such a huge difference.

It makes those kids want to spend time with you, and as you get older, the more you treasure that your kids want to spend time with you. When I hear Robert tell someone things that we have done together, it melts me. I know, respect and truly love a lot of people, but that relationship with my mom and the one with Robert are two of the absolute most treasured.

We often quote verses about parenting such as Train up a child in the way he should go, and Children, Obey your parents (This was one of the first verses I helped Robert memorize, lol). But I want to point out a few other verses to you today. 

Psalms 127:3-5a

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

Colossians 3:21

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

Ephesians 6:4

Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Lots of verses reminding us to treasure God's gifts to us. 

And remember, nobody, absolutely nobody is perfect. God gives us parents to have a safe place to fall here on earth. I am a long way from the perfect parent, but I know Robert knows he can count on me and his dad no matter what and that is what is most important to me when it comes to parenting.

I am leaving you with one of my favorite songs, Needtobreathe's Fall on Me. This is a great song to describe what God wants the parent/child relationship to be. Both with Him as our ultimate Father, and with our children and parents here on earth. 

I also want to add a little perspective. One November morning, in 1980, my dad came in my room, pinched me on the butt and told me to get up, he continued to give me a hard time until I stood up in the bed, looked him in the eye and said, "I'm up already!" It was a fun moment. and one of my very last with him. He went home to be with Jesus at noon that day. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.