kites

this week i was blessed by a 'veteran' homeschool mom who came to talk at a mom's group i go to. it was a great night of fun and fellowship. and she shared a sweet poem by erma bombeck.

""I see children as kites. You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you're both breathless...they crash...you add a longer tail...they hit the rooftop...you pluck them out of the spout...you patch and comfort, adjust and teach. You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that someday they'll fly.

Finally they are airborne, but they need more string and you keep letting it out and with each twist of the ball of twine, there is a sadness that goes with the joy because the kite becomes more distant and somehow you know that it won't be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that bound you together and soar as it was meant to soar...free and alone.

Only then do you know that you did your job.""

isn't that the truth? we work so hard to guide and fly our little children...only to one day 'let them go' and be 'free' in this crazy world. the one and only thing i hope to do for them is that they trust and rely and follow God. because i'm doing my best to guide and fly my children in the ways of God. to show them that for me it has been the only thing keeping me flying safely.

and even yet sometimes when i feel like i've failed them...i realize i haven't at all. that the string is still securely in my hands. i've just lost my own focus on Christ. and when i re-focus...it makes focusing on my job that much easier.

being a parent is a hard job. one of the most rewarding. but one of the hardest. we're faced with a bajillion choices. and then we have others telling us what THEY think WE should choose. i've realized one thing in being a parent...it's really no different then high school. you're going to be 'judged' for everything you decide to do. you're never 'cool' enough. and people will talk about you regardless.

so i've learned. i'm going to be the parent God has called me to be. and essentially...that's all that matters. as long as the life i'm living is pleasing God. no one else's opinions matter. it's all about living confidently in the calling He has placed on my beautiful life. and oh how beautiful it is.

five beautiful kites flying in my hands...and three more flying free in heaven. and i couldn't be more happier with the kites i've been given