Beauty in Every Stage

I want to embrace every stage of life...in each of my children's lives. There are always challenges no matter their age. There are also beautiful things to recognize and be thankful for, from infancy on up. If I focus only on the difficulties at hand, without seeing all the wonderful, it will breed discontentment and ingratitude. I don't believe that if they just grow out of "this stage" that my life will be easier. The next stage will have it's own set of difficulties. But if I live with that mindset, I will miss out on so much. They will grow up fast, and I will look back in regret.

For the most part, this is not that hard for me. But I think part of it is because I am thrilled to give my kids what I longed for so badly when I was their age. My mom left when I was about two years old. She was in and out of my life until I was about seven, and then she lived near me. I got to see her on weekends, and more in the summer. But I wanted to be with her all the time! Don't get me wrong, I loved being with my dad too. But I wanted both! My heart ached. I never got to know what it was like to live with both my mom and dad at the same time. I was way too young to remember when they did.

So last night, my husband and I had the three older kids sleep on an air mattress in our room...just for fun. They all wanted to cuddle with us for a bit, so they climbed into our bed giggling. We laughed and talked, and had fun thinking of antonyms and synonyms for silly words. It was great. And I soaked up every second. My husband asked each of the kids what their favorite part of the day was. BluEyes said that Jesus rose from the dead (so precious), and hide-and-seek at Grandma's. Then BigBrother said that Jesus rose from the dead, and the animal balloons he got to play with. SweetHeart said, right now. This. And I had to agree.

I find that just being with my kids, and loving them well, brings healing to my own soul. And I will choose to enjoy them as much possible. I won't be anxious for them to grow up, and I won't dread it either. I'll just be happy where we are. In each stage. Together.