Precious Time
Precious Time
She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle. (Prov. 31:27)
I was a stay-at-home mom for ten years. Some days seemed like a year all by themselves. On normal days, though, I spent as much time with my girls as possible. I played games with them; I read to them; I rode bikes with them. My house was never perfect even though I did stress about it. The meals I cooked were never gourmet, and I never did anything as well as I would have liked.
But as I look back on that time, those years seem like a day. Today our girls are thirteen and nine, and I am working full-time. My schedule is too full; my body is too tired; my life is too compressed. But they tell me they miss me; I miss them too.
Even though the days are hectic, I still read to them at night. Yes, even the thirteen-year-old enjoys it. But I want more time with them because soon, I know, they’ll be leaving our nest. So now instead of Play-Doh and block towers and swing sets, we’re learning how to do some other things together. Like card making and cooking and knitting.
I realize my time with my children is short. Even now I see it as precious time that I will never get back. So I’ll just have to figure out how to fit in all the other things that need to be done but are not as important. My house may still be a little messy sometimes, but will they remember? Or will they remember our precious times of reading, games, crafts?
God gives us our children as a sacred trust, a stewardship. And while we have a great responsibility to raise them to know Him, He also wants us to enjoy them and revel in the gifts they are. You won’t regret it.