This morning I woke up early at 5:30am and was just thinking about the kids. With the holidays approaching, there haven’t been many quiet moments for me to think, so being up early or staying up late can be precious in having a few minutes of stillness. I was talking with God, thanking Him for our children when He whispered, “Enjoy them… right now!” In the craziness of life with little kids, little time for myself, stretching to continually serve my family, going from various levels of always being tired, God reminded me to stop and appreciate right where we are at in life.

Last night was hair wash night. Luke dislikes getting any amount of water in his ears, but I managed to clean his hair without any tears, increasing his confidence and mine. Anna practised lathering shampoo into her hair while I got the sections she had missed. After their bath, they were singing a funny, little tune they made up which goes, “We are the jumping beans, we are the jumping beans. We are the jumping beans on a Saturday morning!” Laughter and giggles followed as Luke jumped on Anna’s bed and I used the hair dryer on Anna’s long hair. We were making silly faces in the mirror. As I looked at her smile I saw a flashback of me at six years old. Her little face looked a bit more grown up now and I just wanted to soak up that moment with her. Both our kids are growing up so fast.

Over the weekend, a friend circulated on Facebook a lovely poem by Sharon Jaynes called 1 Corinthians 13 Christmas Style. She writes about the many things we do during the Christmas season, however if we do not love, especially our families during advent, what is the point? To read her full poem, click here: 1 Cor 13 Christmas – Sharon Jaynes The two lines of Sharon’s poem which struck me most were, “Love stops the cooking to hug the child and Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of your way.” How distracted I had become with having just cooked up a Thanksgiving feast, hosting guests, and now Christmas festivities in full swing. This was a wake-up call reminder that I need to get my priorities straight this Christmas season.

Keeping this in mind, I got out paint, glitter, and some leftover salt dough ornaments from the school’s recent Christmas bazaar and after getting home from the school run, the kids and I sat down together, talking and doing a creative project. It was really lovely to intentionally make time to do something together before moving on to homework and cooking dinner.

In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” If Jesus had time for the children, I certainly should be making more time for little moments with my Anna and Luke. I want to enjoy them right now, today, before I miss it all.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you that you know my heart and everything about me. Forgive me when I’ve become distracted with Christmas festivities and forgotten about the true meaning of your love coming down to earth for all mankind. Help me to have your perspective and heart for the people around me. Setting aside the giving of gifts, Christmas baking, and all the fun but distracting elements of December, help me to have your heart, especially for my family. May showing love and spending time together take priority this Advent, as we wait in anticipation of your beautiful gift of love given in Jesus. May He be lifted high this Christmas season and always.

Love,

Joy