This one is for all of you who have raised children who have left your home, but especially for my best friend - the Mother of my children. And for those with small children and those beginning their family journey:
They do not belong to us you know, they never did. Oh, yes, we thought they were ours and we protected them as our own, and rightly so. But we were caretakers for just a little while...a wisp, a breath that we held briefly and then released because we could no longer hold it. Do you remember when it seemed like they would be children forever - looking up at us, watching us, depending on us for their every need? We rarely appreciated it then, at least not as we should have, but their dependence worked miracles on us, me and you. It added sinew where none existed before - the muscles of our responsibility were exercised, became strong, and were tested. By God's grace, we held. Thank God, we held.
There were those moments - when we laughed at their blunt honesty and childish antics, when we experienced terror and fear for their safety, when we cried for their pain, and when we resented their disobedience. Those happy moments, those sad moments, but oh, those glorious moments. Our memories are filled with moments, those glimpses of eternity. Thank God for those moments. Thank God for His gift of memories.
All to often, we lived like change would never come - though it happened every day before our eyes through them, yet we did not see it clearly..."as through a glass, dimly". Yet His grace abides, and we move on without regret.
Even a caretaker has his reward, it is in seeing the fullness of his labors, and if not in seeing then in knowing that his Master will fulfill them with promise. We move forward toward that fulfillment, toward His promise.
There are tasks still before us, and rewards yet to come - God give us strength to do the work and patience to await Your reward.
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