In the space of 5 days, my oldest son was baptized, graduated (those happened on the same day!), had his grad party and moved to college.
To say it was a whirlwind is an understatement.
Add to it 6 family members staying with us (one of them a precious newborn) and I’m still amazed at how smoothly it all went.
But what happened next made my Mama heart so, so happy.
8 days after leaving to start his football training with his team, my boy showed up on our doorstep to surprise us.
I was thrilled!
It was wonderful to have him home for 48 hours and surprisingly hard to see him drive out of our driveway to return to Indiana.
In the time he was home he went to multiple graduation parties for friends, went to his high school football field to do his college football workout, went to church, took his littlest brother out to run errands and spend time together, picked his next younger brother up from work (how we’ve missed our extra driver being home to help with the taxi duties), and spent time just sitting and talking with our family.
On Saturday night after he picked up his brother from work we all sat and watched part of America’s Got Talent, a favorite show to watch together as a family, and sadly one of the few left that a family can actually watch together. Two weeks ago I would’ve thought nothing of us all cuddled into the family room watching this together. But now with the perspective of a child already at college, I saw this time as something more.
At one point, I had walked out of the room to do a quick task, and as I returned, I stopped and sensed God telling me to look around and savor this moment. I scanned the room and saw my big boys sprawled across sofas, blankets everywhere, dirty socks on the coffee table, shoes scattered across the floor. All things that through the years have caused me to have moments of overwhelming stress and control issues and could easily end with me barking out orders to get the mess cleaned up.
But this time was different. I remembered the verse,
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. (Luke 2:19 ESV)
I have felt led to really meditate on this verse the last few years. On so many levels I cannot relate to all Mary experienced and endured as Jesus’ mother. Her joy, her pain both must have been innumerable. But this tiny detail in amongst all of the amazing things that transpired during Jesus’ time on earth is not accidentally placed in our Bibles. God wants us to know how Mary was responding to God’s will for her life. And I believe we can learn from her example.
This is why, on a ‘normal’ Saturday night, that was now not so normal, I paused and savored the moment, the time together, treasuring it up in my heart.
Mama, we have many moments that seem very normal, very unforgettable. Some we might even want to forget. (Baby spit up at 3 am, no thank you!)
But as we go about our normal days, let’s pause to treasure up these moments in our hearts. Savor time together.
Let’s whisper quick prayers of gratitude for babies that cry for us to hold them in our arms, kids that interrupt us again to tell us a story, teenagers that choose to flop on the couch and watch a tv show with us instead of be out with friends.
When we stop to pause and savor the nights together in the family room and the other blessings all around us, we will learn to treasure these moments. Ponder them in our hearts. Give God gratitude for what He has given us. And we might even learn to ignore the mess and make some memories.
Dear Lord,
I am so often overwhelmed with all I need to do, the mess, the noise, the chaos. I know that this season is fleeting, but in my day to day, it’s easy to forget that and not take the time to notice the beauty, the joy and the importance of having my children near. Please forgive me for the times I’ve taken my blessings for granted, and help me to treasure these moments in my heart. I know they are from You, and I am grateful.
