Deadlines And Details
A simple statement by a simple child. Children keep things simple (Matthew11:25). Life has yet to confound or confuse them with deadlines anddetails. Oh, but to be a child again. No hurries, no worries. Inquisitiveand curious about everything from earth worms to wrinkled hands. The "whys" and "how come" questions seem unending. A weary mother wonders ifthey ever will. Sure enough, they do. And when they do, she wonders wherethe time went.
She looks down one day and sees the wrinkled hands her children wonderedabout. The earth worms that stirred awe in them then, bore them now.Vacation bible school is a misty memory. Swing sets and park slidessuddenly slip into nostalgia. Right before her eyes, just a blink, andlittle lives change. Paychecks, peer pressure, and drug driven parties arenow their problems and priorities. The children that knew not a worry inthe world are at this instant in the middle of it. She prays the worlddoesn't get the best of her oldest or give its worst to her youngest. Oh,but to have the questions asked again.
Hindsight allows her to see that her weary, worried, and hurried ways simplyweren't worth it. It was optional. It was a choice. And she sees thatbecause it was, they must have been watching. Perhaps it was the harsh toneor the infrequent hugs following so many frustrating days at work. Why?How come? She is pained by the questions. Their questions are hers.What they must have felt, she feels. Her empty nest isn't a syndrome someself-help book can better. Alone she sits, loathing self-centeredness.Every ill-spoken word and the words that should have been beg for answers.It has finally hit home and her heart is breaking because they no longerare.
The phone rings and she lets it go unanswered. Moments later it ringsagain and cautiously she decides to answer. Her prayer is answered. Theworld hasn't won. Her son's voice has gotten deeper and his first love hastoo.
"Mom?" he utters with questioning inflection.
She stills her spirit to prepare to answer.
"I still love to think about God."
A simple statement by still your child.
Listen to your children. Why? How come? Very simply. Weary, worried,and hurried ways simply aren't worth it. By the way, a lot of sage is inthe tender mercies of mouths of mere babes.
Copyright © 2006 Brian Jett