I have an article I linked to on FaceBook, and saw that many friends shared as well. The article talks about the burden sometimes we moms feel when someone older tells us to treasure every moment with our kids. I thought the contrast between chronos time and kairos time was good. There are moments that are different….there are moments when we are aware of God’s reality that goes beyond the things we see and the mundane.

 

Still…something nagged at me about this article.

 

I’ve had the older women, and men, say that I should treasure every moment with my children. I’ve had the days when everything went wrong…the kids fought and cried and I felt like a lump, completely unmotivated. I’ve had the days with sick kids making a mess, in the car. On the floor. Everywhere.

 

I’ve had the days I wish I was doing something else.

 

Yet…I already feel that ache deep inside my core of how fast these days vanish.  Madeleine changes before our eyes, it seems. Zachary is almost as tall as I am.  There are days I feel a distance with Nate as he comes into his own. Sammy already seems to change by the moment between wanting to be held and killing zombies on Halo Reach with Zachary. Some days he wants me to lay by him on the bean bag while he kills zombies on Halo Reach. I’m not sure where that fits in.

 

The point is…I click my camera, I film, I record…I press these things into my mind and heart and try to make them permanent. I don’t want to lose what it feels like to have Madeleine delight in seeing me or Steve…absolutely delight that we are with her. I don’t want to lose what it feels like to be mom to little ones.

 

It is magical.

 

It is a glimmer of God’s delight in us.

 

I also can’t wait to see the men my boys become and the woman Madeleine becomes…because I think they are going to be amazing.

 

The mundane days are the foundation that is going to make those men and that woman. What happens now is important…it is not just getting through the day. My delight in them, I am realizing, teaches them to delight in themselves and who God has created them to be. They are not a burden…they are a wonder.

 

I’ll still be bummed when I have to clean up messes after them. I’ll still get frustrated when they fight or when they disobey. They’ll still have moments they annoy me. But, I think the challenge to treasure every moment is worth hearing. We can’t really fulfill it…but we can try. And when we are overwhelmed and frustrated we can try to remember that these are treasures that have been entrusted to us for a season. Snotty noses and all.

 

I really like the idea of when I am the older woman buying the young mom’s groceries and having them take them out to the car for her. I thought that was brilliant, and I hope I’m able to park at the store and do that a lot. That would be fantastic. For now, I’ll listen to those challenges from those mom’s who have gone before….and know that this ache I feel now is what they are feeling, but on the other side, without being able to still scoop up little ones and hold them tight before they grow too big. What a wonder this parenthood journey is.