My son and daughter sat across from me at our kitchen island on Wednesday while I prepared dinner. My daughter
suddenly flashed her silver smile full of braces. The metallic gleam jolted me into the reality that time is quickly running out. She’ll be a teenager soon, then a young adult. When did she suddenly grow up?
As my husband often says, “These days are long but the years are short.” Indeed. As I stared at that shiny smile my head began to calculate: 7 more Christmases, 6 more summers, then she would be all grown up and out of the house.
My parenting season seemed to flash before me like the sunlight bouncing of those metallic teeth. I suddenly felt the urge to soak up every moment with my children as if it were my last.
I pulled up the stool next to her and we opened her history book. The author reasoned how the British being distracted by their own internal struggles led to the colonists’ rebellion. I flashed back to my own teenage years and the rebellion that began to stir in my own life as my parents relentlessly chased their careers and dreams. Did they love me? Absolutely. They were just distracted. And I capitalized on it in my foolish, strong-willed adolescence.
The Lord whispered to my heart, “Don’t become distracted by the demands of the day- your time left to truly influence her is short. Make the most of it.”
It seemed like scales dropped from my eyes and I saw my children for the first time. I learned nothing new and yet saw everything differently. Perspective. It’s hard to maintain with the demands of life shifting your focus and pulling at you. Our own internal struggles begin to distract us leaving our children to fend for themselves emotionally and spiritually.
So in that moment I made a resolution to myself. It’s About Time. It’s about time to be diligent in guarding my perspective. At the end of the parenting road it’s all about time- what you did to make the most of it. It sounds so easy, doesn’t it? But we all know it’s truly so hard.
Psalm 90:12 says: Teach us to number our days carefully, so we may develop wisdom in our hearts. HCSB.
Amen, LORD. Wisdom. Perspective. It’s About Time.
How do you guard your perspective?
