Part 10: One on one time (Beautiful reminders from Mitten Strings from God)
I have been wanting to re-share some posts from the days when I was a young mother - gems I had extracted from one of my wow-books*.
I am re-posting the series of 11 parts here, specially for the young mothers around me. May your journey of motherhood be as beautiful and as enjoyable as the Lord intended it to be for us!
[*Wow-books are those that have shaped my life in some ways, and they occupy a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, treasured.]
We all know that children need some special one-on-one time with their parents.
But sometimes we forget that we parents need this kind of time alone with our children too.
And unfortunately, when the pace of life speeds up, one-on-one time is often the first thing that gets squeezed out.
Our schedules deprive us of each other.
Yet when we do that bit of extra juggling required to make a special, spearate place for each child, the rewards are well worth the effort
What makes all of these interludes special is the fact that they force us to slow down,Vto alter the rhythm of our daily lives in order to make time for each other,
to have fun together.
Mothers can get so caught up in the caretaking that we may overlook each child's need to be seen as an individual, with unique tastes and temperaments and gifts.
But mothering is not just a simple matter of meeting our children's physical needs.
We must also strive to meet them at deeper level, recognising in each one a special character and fate.
It is up to us, as mothers, to see these soul qualities and to honour and protect them.
Alone with our children, we have a chance to see and hear and accept them as they really are, right now, at this moment.
We see them not in relation to their siblings, friends, or peers, or as a piece of the larger family puzzle, but as unique individuals, each wtih a particular destiny to fulfill on this earth.
When we recognise our children in this way, we also invite them to see us more fully, not just as parents but as other human beings, a fellow traveler on life's journey.
The family dynamic is set aside in favour of simple companionship.
I am amazed by the questions my children ask when we are alone together, by their breathtaking confidences and their acute perceptions of their world.
It feels then as if I am being offered a glimpse of their true colours, pure and shining.
I see not only who they are, but who they are becoming.
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