False Start

So I'm feeling a little sentimental tonight.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because school will be out tomorrow.  Maybe it's because my baby is going to 3rd grade.  Maybe it's because my second baby will be starting kindergarten.  Or maybe it's just because, well because I'm a baby! :)

I'm watching Micah swing away blissfully in his swing knowing all too well that he will be in 3rd grade before I know it.  *Sigh*  So much to teach him before then!

I'll be the first to admit, I did a lot of things wrong with Eli.  I would say that most people can say that about their first child.  I mean I didn't do anything "bad" wrong.  Nothing that scarred him for life...I hope! :)  I would just do some things different.

I think it's pretty awesome that I've been blessed to have another chance to do things differently with Micah.  It's sometimes hard not to look back though.  It can be really easy to play the "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda" game.  Not to mention depressing.  I confess, I play that game too often and when I do it's not always a pretty picture.  The truth is we can't go back in time to fix how we feel we've messed up.  All we can do is try again, start over.  We can't throw in the towel.  Isn't it amazing how God forgives us long before we can forgive ourselves?

One of my favorite "go to" Mommy Bible verses is:

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

There are not a lot of things that make me as weary as being a parent (well maybe laundry)!  It is so much harder than I ever could have imagined.  There have been many days I have wanted to run away, wanted to say, "Forget it! I can't possibly be the Mommy that these boys need!"  Can I get an AMEN? :)  But the truth is, "these boys" have been given to me by God.  He has blessed me by giving entrusting them to me.  They are not mine, they are His.  He is trusting me to raise them!  Ahhh...that makes the job even more scary!

 But let's take a minute to think forward to the harvest.  What if instead of looking back we looked forward?  We could play the "It should BE, it could BE, it WILL BE game"!  Oh how much better that sounds!  We can look to the future and God's promises!

Here are a few of my favorites.

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)

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

James 1:12 (NIV)

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Jeremiah 24:7 (NIV)

7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

Luke 1:37 (NLT)

37 For nothing is impossible with God.

So tonight as I'm a sentimental ball of mush, I'm gonna focus on God's promises rather than the past.  As for tomorrow, well tomorrow I will:

Psalm 143:8 (NIV)

8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,  for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go,  for to you I entrust my life.

Why? Because it's the ONE for sure thing I'll get right tomorrow! :)