if my child marries yours If my child marries yours... I just want you to know that Im praying for you. When Im awake at night - feeding babies, burping babies, giving tylenol to a feverish toddler, covering up chilly toes, tucking green monkeys under little arms - I think of you. Because chances are, youre awake too, doing the same sorts of things. Taking care of tiny children that I already love because they will someday hold the hearts that are beating against my chest tonight. Im praying that youll stand firm against the pressures to overcommit and hyper-schedule, that youll shut out the voices that tell you youre not doing enough, that your kids arent doing enough. Im praying youll have the wisdom to know when to pick that crying baby up out of her crib and when to just sit outside her door, your fingertips pressed to the wood, willing her to feel your love and comfort and just finally fall asleep. Im praying that you will take those children to church...that the mothers and fathers of our future grandchildren will grow up knowing what it means to worship, even when that means missing out-of-town basketball tournaments and marathon sleepovers. Im praying that your love for and commitment to your spouse will swell with each year youre together, that you will grow to love the legacy you are creating just as much as you adore the person youre creating it with. Im praying that you take lots of pictures so that I can see where our grandchildren got their sticky-out ears and their mischievous grins. Im praying that Jesus will give you just enough strength each day to keep you from losing it but not so much that you forget Who that strength comes from. Im praying that we will be friends. Will you pray those things for me too? I dont really pray for your child. Maybe I should. My husband does that, and I think its wonderful. But chances are, your child is just fine. And chances are, a lot of the time, you arent. Chances are, if youre anything like me, youre very tired. And some days, you get so discouraged. Sometimes, your temper erupts, your selfishness wins, and your smile is fake. Sometimes you forget to change the babys diaper, to spend time being silly with your toddler, to really see your spouse. So its you I am praying for right now, in the still darkness, with this baby fist pressed up under my chin and this sweet, sleepy breath on my ear. May you feel these prayers when you need them the most. We are in this together, you and I. We are building something beautiful with each onesie folded, each invisible owie kissed, each story read. You dont know how much it means to me that you give your children everything you have every single day...even on days when its not much at all. Because your child will fall asleep next to mine for fifty-some years. Your child will be the one holding my childs hand when our first grandchild is born. And when they face the darkest days of their lives, it will be your child and mine, facing into the struggle together. Im pretty sure that our longest days - the ones that are brim-full with hair-pulling moments, impossible messes, and toddler meltdowns - those are the days that we are fashioning hearts. And someday, one of the hearts Im helping create will crash into one of your love-crafted hearts, and what spills out as a result of that jolt...its kind of up to us. I promise to tend to these hearts with utmost care, to plant in them humility and peace and selflessness...especially selflessness. I promise to plant Jesus seeds in these hearts every chance I get. And I promise to keep praying for you. Im praying that you will hug your boy tight when hes sad or lonely or scared. Because someday, my girl - all grown beautiful with babies of her own - will be sad or lonely or scared. And hell need to know how to hold her. Teach him. And let your daughters hear you speak righteous words that bring life and hope. Because someday, my sons will be worn and weary, and the words youre placing in your daughters minds today just might become the balm to my sons souls. Im doing my best to do the same. And sometimes...much of the time...I fail. Pray for me too. Someday we will sit on opposite sides of the aisle...all fancy and with gobs of tissues tucked into our fists. Well watch our silly, sticky, sweet babies somehow transform into brides and grooms and make the same promises to one another that we ourselves have kept...against all odds and only by His grace. And we will watch these children create families of their own with the ingredients we have given them. The ingredients we are slipping into their souls today. But until then, Im sitting here in the dark with babies in my arms. And Im praying for you. teachmetobraid.blogspot/2014/09/if-my-child-marries-yours.html
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 22:43:46 +0000
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