After the AM church service, my hubby grilled up several pounds of various meats. I mean just the smell alone had all our mouths watering badly. He loves to grill. My Dad and Mom came over to partake. I baked a red velvet cake and made my best potato salad ever- secret ingredients: Bacon and spicy brown mustard. He chilled a pure dripping sugar watermelon all night. We feasted. Afterward we pulled ourselves out of the food coma and we swam. My kids are ecstatic when Daddy swims. Mom's achy breaky back will not provide the launch sequence for total water lift off. Oh, but Daddy has it down to a science.
Yes, they cling to him like monkeys of the sea.
His water wresting skills are legendary.
My daughter reveling in the fact that this year she can touch bottom.
Family, it's the best kind of challenge. To be perfectly truthful, as soon as I got married I realized I had problems and issues I never even dreamed of. Parts of my personality reared their ugly heads like aliens who had been using me as a cocoon. I loved my husband and I sincerely wanted my marriage to be life long, so I started the long, hard, difficult work of therapy, bible study and right choices that would lead me to be a better wife.
Kids take the thing to a whole new level.
Things that I never noticed as a wife became glaring red flags as a mother. Since when did "Back to the Future" have so many curse words? Since when did so many movies have casual sex? TV shows? Songs?
Since when did I get so self-centered, impatient, and generally greedy? Don't touch my candy bar kid! Just let mom sleep, text her message, check her email, etc...
When a little child is sitting next to you, one whom you are responsible for (yes that's a ton of bricks that hits you as you drive away from the hospital), you look at the world with reborn eyes. The muck and mire that years of culture have slowly grown over your retinas (cataracts of sin) get ripped off.
I realized I wanted desperately to get this right.
For this little group, this little family that meant the world to me, I had to fight harder than I had ever fought before.
I strove to move close to God. As I did, I saw millions of dark areas of my heart, but I had a renewed vigor to root them out. In many ways I still struggle today, but my hate for my own selfishness that leads me to choose me over God or them is strong now.
The price is too high.
Laziness is too costly.
I pray God will give me wisdom, strength, and patience to navigate this world with them. I pray He will give me hope when it is not easy or fun.
Getting Family right is the Mount Everest of Life. Do it right and God walks away with tons of Glory.
I had to discipline my son on father's day and I began to feel hopeless. I was sure he would never understand what I was trying to teach. But that night he came to me and apologized and talked with me about his desire to do better and we talked about how much we both love each other. God hears my prayers, and just when I need Him most He is there.
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