“When you finally go back to your old hometown, you find it wasn’t the old home you missed, but your childhood.”  ~Sam Ewing

We’re cleaning out dresser drawers and pulling hidden “treasures” out from under beds as we wind down this last week of summer vacation and plan for the beginning of a new school year.

Yesterday, as I picked up a pile of discarded items from my younger daughter’s room and carried them to the trash can, something fell out of my hands.

It’s the last pair of lace-edged church socks.

Admittedly, as a 12-year-old seventh grader, that ship has probably sailed for her.  But it’s still a little sad.

First it was the smocked dresses, then the hair bows, and now the lacy socks.

The last vestiges of my girls’ childhoods seem to disappearing rather quickly.

How thankful I am today for the years I’ve been blessed to be a stay-at-home mom, to be there as our children passed through the toddler and preschool years, then on to elementary school, even into our homeschooling journey.  That’s time that I can never go back and relive, and I’m overwhelmed with gratitude to God for His provision, and for a husband who always supported that decision and worked hard to make it a reality.

This current season has its own sweet flavor….easy traveling for the four of us, real help around the house, being able to go out on a date with my husband – no babysitter needed.

And, at least for now, I can still take comfort in the American Girl dolls standing in the corner of the bedroom and the Polly Pockets stuffed into the closet.  I’ll try not to count the days until they, too, are banished from my girls’ bedrooms in a back-to-school cleaning frenzy.

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If my life were written out like a book, you could scan the list of chapters, and they’d have titles such as the following:  “Carefree Childhood,” “College Years,”  “Elementary School Teacher,”  “Mom of Littles.”

Less than two weeks from now, a blank page in a new chapter will begin to be filled.  After being a homeschooling mom for four years, we’ll have both daughters back in school full-time, a 7th grader and a 9th grader.  Which means I’ll be back to having a certain amount of time each day that I’ll have to decide how to spend.

A new page in a new chapter can be intimidating, scary, and exciting all at once.  Only God knows how that first paragraph will begin, how the sentences will unfold one after another, what the plot line will be, and how the chapter will end.

Perhaps you’re facing a new chapter in another way as this school year begins…a child starting school for the first time, one going off to college, homeschooling for the first time – or adding another child to your homeschooling routine – or perhaps your children are attending a new school or you face a different family situation.

Many years ago, I shared the verse below with family members during a time of change and I find it so appropriate now.

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.  Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”  (Isaiah 43:18-19)

Whatever “new” situation we’re facing, God has a plan for us.  We can trust Him to “make a way” when we feel lost in our wilderness, and, when we’re overwhelmed, He will provide unexpected blessings in our desert.

Are you facing a new chapter in life?

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“Your prayers for your children are the greatest legacy you can leave.” ~Mark Batterson in Praying Circles Around Your Children

One of the great gifts I have in this life is parents who pray for my family and I every day.  I am seeking to leave that same legacy for our children.

The older our girls get, the more opportunities there seem to be to pray for them!  For example, our older daughter is away with her church youth group at camp this week.

I am praying for her to….

• have physical safety and good health

• build strong friendships with the girls in her cabin

• see a Godly example she can follow in her counselor

• have God’s Holy Spirit work in her heart through the preaching of His Word

• have fun!

While I pray through this list each morning, I’m also trying to remember to pray throughout the day, especially at designated times like meals.

I like to pray not only for their current needs, but also for their future – the immediate future as well as the more distant future.  I’ve already begun praying that my younger daughter will enjoy the day camp she’ll be attending next week and for her transition back to school in late August.  And of course it’s never too early to start praying for wisdom in the “big” decisions such as what college to attend, career choices, and a husband (if it’s God’s will that they marry).

I also need to remind myself of the six prayers found in I Corinthians 1 that can speak such blessings into my children’s lives.  I’m so thankful that God allows us to see answered prayers as we’re faithful to pray in His will.  Let’s remember the importance of praying for our children!

Dear Daughter,

You’ve asked me to take you to the store to look at makeup.

I try to take this in stride.  You’re 14 (and a 1/2) years old and will be starting high school in two months.  I know many of your friends have been wearing makeup for awhile and I suppose it’s time to dip a toe into these waters.

I know you will patiently listen to my talk about the importance of inner beauty and how makeup is used only to enhance our natural beauty, not totally change the look of our face.  And how a sweet teenage girl needs to look only like a sweet teenage girl….and you will still want to try a little makeup.

My depth of knowledge in this area is very limited, as I’ve always been a “less is more” type of girl, but I’ll do my best to wander the aisles overflowing with options and help you choose some very basic, light makeup to practice with at home.

But I just wanted you to know that you’re already beautiful to me.

Only last week we went through old pictures and school papers, and a couple of weeks before that, we watched videos from your kindergarten days.  Without those visual reminders, it’s become more difficult for me to remember what that was like, now that you’re almost as tall as I am, on the cusp of high school and a learner’s driving permit….and wanting to wear makeup, the real deal, not the pretend kind.

And today, without blush or mascara or lip gloss or straightened hair, you’re already beautiful to me.  You’re a daughter given to our family by God, His creation with every talent and strength and opportunity given to you for His purposes.

Just as makeup doesn’t define you for me, so don’t let it define you for others.  You want friends who can see down deep, who appreciate your personality and your loyalty and your determination and your sense of humor.  Don’t embrace those who approve only your looks or judge you by your adaptation of the latest styles.

So we’ll tackle the makeup aisles, make a few purchases, and let you take another step in this journey into young womanhood.

But just remember, you’re already beautiful to me.

Love,

Mom

Another school year is coming to a close.

My older daughter will officially be a high schooler in just a few weeks.  My younger daughter, however, is facing the most changes in the next few months .  She’ll be moving from her current Sunday School class into the youth group, leaving the children’s programs behind for good, finishing what will perhaps be her final year in homeschool co-op classes.

It’s a time to say good-bye to many who have influenced my children in the past year, or even longer.

There’s Mr. Bates, the music teacher who introduced my 14-year-old to handbells and led her Junior High choir.  Mrs. Yandle, the dear lady who’s taught both of my girls in her 5th and 6th Grade Sunday School class.  Mrs. Woodruff, Mrs. Shreve, and Mrs. Brown, the three ladies who have encouraged my younger daughter in her last year of Awana.  Their group will not have my daughter sitting with them come September.

The lessons and skills that my daughters have gleaned from these people and many others can never be repaid.  There’s no monetary donation or tangible gift that could demonstrate their importance.  That’s because they’ve given their time – our most valuable, irreplaceable resource – and literally themselves to impact the lives of mine and other children.

Good-bye’s can be hard to say.  They make me sentimental.  A good-bye means we’ve been linked to another soul through a common interest, then brought to a point of parting.  I believe the line from Dr. Seuss is appropriate here –

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

This is the prayer I pray during this month of good-bye’s.

Thank you, God, for those who’ve invested themselves into my children in each season of their lives.  While you’ve given John and I the ultimate responsibility of training our daughters for you, we’ve selected some to help us in this journey. 

We are blessed to have had these dear people assist us in rearing our children.  We can never repay the hours they’ve spent, yet You can reward them for eternity.  Only You know the ultimate impact the intersection of these lives with ours has made on our children as well as us, their parents. 

Continue to guide us, Lord, and give us wisdom in trusting others to do what we, in a certain sense, cannot.  Give us teachers, youth leaders, music directors, pastors who will point our children to You and who will live lives that exemplify your goodness. 

Bless, Lord, and keep in your care all of us as we move forward from here.  May we each live out your plan in touching lives and bringing glory to You.

What type of change is your family facing these days?

Mother’s Day 2012

Last year I began a new Mother’s Day tradition.

I was inspired by Lisa-Jo Baker’s post How Not To Be Disappointed This Mother’s Day.  (I just took the time to re-read her words and realized how perfectly the theme ties in to the post I wrote last week on expectations and entitlement.)

Lisa-Jo shares an Upside Down Mother’s Day Gift List.  I adapted number 8, and this week I will be writing a letter to each of my girls telling them why I love being their mom. 

Since my daughters are different, their lists will be as well.  They have distinct personalities and I love to highlight the unique ways that they bless me and our family.

This jotting down of words and passing on of encouragement to my girls helps me to pause and realize the blessings they are and the privilege it is to be a mom.  Even if there were no such thing as Mother’s Day, I’d have so much for which to be thankful because of my precious children! 

In this season where I sometimes feel I’m trapped in correcting negative attitudes and behaviors, this also gives me a chance to praise their positive actions and the growth I see in them.

I hope this new tradition will leave a legacy of blessings for my daughters.  (They saw me writing this post and both went and got their last year’s letters from their rooms.  That gives me hope that they will save these letters and be encouraged by them for many years to come!)

Do you have any Mother’s Day traditions?

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Friday night I sat alone in my warm car in the school parking lot, listening to the radio and watching traffic go by.  I was waiting for the school bus that would bring my daughter back from her last basketball game of the season, a tournament held at another school three hours away.

The arrival time for the bus had passed 20 minutes ago, but I’d seen the backup on the interstate and figured they’d been delayed.  A few minutes later, the long white bus with the school name printed on its side came into view.  As it sat waiting for cars to pass so it could make its turn and discharge its riders to the waiting parents, a feeling of intense gratitude came over me.  The sight of that big white bus, back from its pilgrimage with all passengers safely inside, caused me to say aloud, “Thank you, God.”

You see, I know that not every bus full of bright, happy, young teenagers returns home.  Not every student who climbs onto a school bus walks off.  But this night, from this event, God brought our daughter safely home.  Let me not take this for granted, not now and not ever, this expression of His grace in protecting one I love.

What about those who don’t come back, when accidents happen or tragedies take place?  What about God’s grace then?  I’m as unqualified as anyone to answer as to God’s purposes or plans or to begin to fathom His all omniscient character.

But having faced difficult trials myself, I know that it’s then that we must trust, that we experience His grace in a different light, the all-encompassing, God-only-given grace that carries us through when human effort fails and self-generated peace flees.

Friday night, as she got ready to go to sleep, I hugged my daughter tight and prayed over her and thanked God for the safety He’d provided.  May those words not be rote, but heartfelt, never letting me take these partings and reunions for granted, seeing the grace and the blessings, taking each one from His hand with a thankful heart.

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Start with a heaping cup of love.

Toss with equal parts patience and wisdom.

Mix in two tablespoons of heroism and two more of hard work.

Blend with answers to off-the-wall questions, the ability to fix anything that breaks, and willingness to play dolls or trucks, as the situation dictates.

Add a scoop of self-sacrifice, the ability to drive long distances without falling asleep, and sprinkle in a sense of humor to taste.

Top with bedtime hugs and tickles, cover generously with heartfelt prayers, then bake for a lifetime.

And to a man who’s a prize-winner in this recipe category….

Happy Birthday, Dad!