Confessions of a Young Mom #583
14 Jan
I woke up this morning with a sense of sober fear. As a children’s pastor I spend much of my mental energy thinking of opportunities and creative ways to equip parents for the journey of teaching their kids how to love & serve Jesus.
But this morning all I could think about is that my oldest is 10 years old.
To many of my readers this might seem like a small thing. I’m clearly a young mom. I never define myself otherwise. But the truth is… the clock is ticking. I’ve got less time with him before he moves out of my house. The season where my influence is greater than the influence of his friends is coming to an end fast.
The last 10 years of my life have gone fast. The pace of the next 10 years will be no different.
Yet as I write this post there is a sense of excitement and hope. He’s 10 years old. He can understand things his younger siblings cannot. He can chew on spiritual truths and internalize them on a deeper level. That’s exciting to me.
Sometimes I watch him as he processes things like why a homeless man would choose to spend money on alcohol instead of a place to stay. Why a country would make Christianity illegal. How a kid on the other side of the country could enjoy life in a home with dirt floors, no toilet and livestock walking around.
I want to have more of these conversations. I’m praying for more of these interactions.
As a ministry leader I confess that I’ve had my share of moments where the ministry has superseded my role as mom. Many opportunities for time with my son were lost due to ministry demands or just plain fatigue. I’ve not done this perfectly.
But my hope is in the Author of great relationships. And my prayer for the next 10 years is that He would keep my eyes focused on the opportunities ahead. That I would maximize those opportunities and continue to foster a relationship with my son that is a source of refuge, encouragement, guidance & love.
I want him to love & serve Jesus with more passion than I ever thought possible.
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Definitely can empathize… not the being a mom part
Our oldest just turned 10 as well… It hit both my wife and I that all the stats we tell other parents about children solidifying their beliefs and such by age 10 just became a reality! It is fun being able to more abstractly talk with him about stuff and hear his insights. We learn so much from him sometimes.
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL…we are of the same mind! Seize the Day!
tristie
Thanks for the reminder… I am asking the Lord to help me balance sweet fellowship with Him, loving and serving my wonderful husband, training up my children in the admonition of the Lord and tromping through the domestic duties of a family of six! A challenge for certain and one that mustn’t be done without the Lord’s strength!
At what point do you have to stop being a young mom? What’s the break-over point to old mom? A certain age? Number of kids? Frequency of trips to the ER? I’m just trying to decide if I’m an old mom or young mom. I don’t feel old but I spent some time visiting with our foster kids’ 23 year old mom on Friday and realized I was a LONG way away from that kind of young mom.
Okay. Good question. I guess I’m always thinking of those with teenagers. The “senior high” parents. So, does that make us “mid-high” parents?
I think some would accuse me of being high.