on the privilege of being a parent

I posted a bunch of B's baby/toddler pictures on Flickr; I managed to find them after a good deal of hunting, and I thought I'd better post them on there just in case. Looking at them, I'm just amazed at how much my baby has grown in just 5 years. In the picture above, she was just 1, and I could still carry her and walk about without any problem. I couldn't lift her for more than 20 seconds now without worrying about my back!

Just look at that! Those chubby little arms, that round baby face... and now! I'm so so blessed to be a fulltime Mom -- it's a privilege I truly thank God (and my husband) for! I love being with my kids, I hate doing stuff without them; I'm so glad I can be present at, be a part of, every stage of my children's growing up.

I know families where both parents work and are so caught up with their own desires, their own money-making plans, that they don't have any time for their kids at all, or they don't put aside any time for them, don't give them any priority. Of course it is an excellent thing to provide for our children, to make sure they have good futures and are well taken care of, but don't miss out on their childhood. It really does go by so fast. You wouldn't want to be like some people I know who are now, as adults, far closer to their nanny or some aunt or friend, because their parents were too busy for them when they were growing up. And there's so much we can learn from little children, it would be a terrible shame to let it just pass us by.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matt 19:14).

Do appreciate, enjoy, cherish, downright savour your kids! Do stuff with them -- whether it's going to a movie, playing a game, reading a book together, doing a craft, chatting over tea, whatever -- don't just leave them somewhere with one of those idiotic handheld games.

As Richard Evans said, "Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them". And as Oscar Wilde said, "Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes, they forgive them". There's nothing quite like a child's love -- let's make sure we deserve it.