Holding on to Proverbs 22:6!!!

Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." 

 Well, it’s that time a year again…the end of the year.  It’s that time again when you hear about goals, resolutions, changes to make our lives better, better than it was last year.  We are a fallen people so we don’t have it all down perfectly, I included to be sure.  Resolutions are usually self-made rules that are quickly forgotten, broken, or deemed too hard to keep after a few weeks into the new year.  I think its funny how you pass by the gyms around town the first few weeks in January and see how crowded they are with all the goals, resolutions and changes folks pledge to make the new year better, but by about February or March these same gyms are back to the same usual pace.  I have not been any of those people.

However, this year is going to be different for me, after 18 and 20 years of being mommy to two young daughters, I am now the mom to two adult women who do not need me like they used to.  Their brother, now 32 and married for over 6 years, moved into his adulthood while I was in the throes of toddler-hood and the early homeschooling years.  I was happy, busy, with a full schedule of activities for many years with his two young sisters ahead of me to focus on.  All those lovely years are passed now and they are both in college and making their own future plans.  One is engaged to be married in a few years when she is out of college and the other one is not yet sure, but feeling the need to be independent.

This year I need to become more of the mother bear that chases her cub up a tree, this year I need to be the woman who chooses a second career and embraces her marriage and life as an empty-nester.  No children to care for, no kids at home waiting for dinner to be cooked, no homework to grade, or music lessons to pay for.  That part of my life is over, literally over and I am missing it already.  Terribly.  I was never one of those mothers who couldn’t wait for holiday break to be over, I never felt tired of being a mother, nor did I relate to others who complained about their how their kids drove them crazy.  These statements never came out of my mouth.  I loved having them around and loved being their mom.  

We have done the best that we could,  took them to Church, talked about Jesus, prayed with them, sang with them, worshiped with them.  We loved them, hugged them, apologized when we were wrong, praised them when they did well, and scolded them when they did wrong.  We took them on trips, camped, hiked, visited historic sites, and holy places.  We taught them to read, write, and do math, we taught them to think for themselves, learn and not memorize.  We made them good learners, both honor students, graduating from high school with a 3.9 and a 4.0.  I taught them the theology of the body, to respect themselves and others.  

It's time to see how we did....what sunk in and what needs yet another layer of education..the school of hard knocks.  I know that much of this is normal and I have to have faith that they will turn out as fine and decent human-beings, God-fearing, faithful, and headed for eternity.  That's what we were going for and that they will pass on the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His teachings and of course His bride, the Church.

It is my prayer.