To the mamma who’s tired of not getting it right (and afraid she’s losing control!)

We have so many expectations for ourselves and our children. 
We strive to do all the things required to nurture tomorrows adults.  
We read books on best methods
we follow advice (and sometimes
the crowd around us).
~everyone’s kids are busy in activity so I must 
                     ~everyone’s kids are homeschooled so I must
                                        ~everyone’s kids wear such and such so mine must.

Who’s everyone anyway?

And sometimes, we pull away from the crowd and do the complete opposite, thinking we now have the recipe for raising good kids. Whatever society does, we will do it differently, and THEN my kids will grow up just the way I want them to. 

Just the way YOU want them to?

We love to think we have control over our lives, our decisions, and our littles. And we do have a measure of control, but we should realize that when our babies wake up in the middle of the night for the third time, our control is limited. We should take this as our cue early and remind ourselves throughout their growing years that our control becomes less and less and that we need to let go more and more. 

We guide them, teach, encourage and nurture them in the ways we believe are right. We try to protect them (and sometimes too much because hard things produce character), we instill faith, we teach them to pray and above all that Jesus loves them with an enduring love. We want them to be well-rounded and well-grounded. We try to be good examples of what it means to be a healthy, responsible adult. But we fail. Over and over, we fail, and that’s ok. We learn to apologize and start over. (This also is part of being a good example).

And then overnight, it’s all done, and your babies are driving trucks and going to university. 

You smile and nod thinking, “yeah sure. I've heard that before but I feel like this stage will last forever!"
I know, cause I was in your shoes. 
                               I thought the same thoughts. 
                                                        We all do. 
But with hindsight we understand the quicksand of time,
and that doesn't come until after the fact 
~ naturally. 

And hindsight would leave but a few thoughts. 

~Learn to trust God more than yourself. Really, truly trust. Not lip service trust, but down-on-your-knees trust. Trusting that the God you serve, loves your children more than you ever could. That He’s got them.

 ~ Your children were only loaned to you. They are first God’s. You cannot and will not control them (for a while, you think you can, but not long). Let God mould them into the people He wants them to be. Learn early to keep your hands open so that when it’s time for them to leave the nest, they know how to fly. (And you know how to let them.)

A bird with clipped wings does not know how to fly. 

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