This week, I had to admit ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/WP_20150720_007-e1440780237402-300x249.jpg\")
that ‘they’ were right…Those ladies who years ago would look at me with my five small children, smile, and then tell me to enjoy these years because they go by fast.\u00a0 I wanted to throw up every time someone said that to me.\u00a0 I understood what they were trying to tell me, but honestly, I was tired, overwhelmed, tired, stretched thin, and did I mention tired?\u00a0 But this week, I had to admit they were right.<\/p>\n
On Monday, my four youngest children started their first day of their senior year of high school.\u00a0 (My oldest starts her second year of college next week!)\u00a0 I hadn’t given it too much thought until I saw friends posting pictures of their kids’ first day.\u00a0 Many of them with kids the same age as mine,\u00a0posted pictures of the first day of kindergarten along with the first day of senior year together.\u00a0 How did we get here? \u00a0Where had the time gone?\u00a0 Some of those early days seemed endless and yet the years had flown by.<\/p>\n
I thought back to all the times I worried about them and their older sister in school.\u00a0 Would they find friends?\u00a0 Would any of them get picked on?\u00a0\u00a0Would they each find their own niche? How would they handle\u00a0moving to new schools?\u00a0 How would they transition\u00a0to middle school?\u00a0 High school?<\/p>\n
Now as I look back, I’m amazed at all the life that has taken place.\u00a0 Yes, they made friends.\u00a0 Yes, some of them\u00a0got picked on and experienced\u00a0mean people.\u00a0 (Those are the times when the mama bear in me roars!)\u00a0 They have each found their own niche…children and families,\u00a0choir, computers, running, and photography and yearbook.\u00a0 They each handled our moves in their own ways, learning how to make new friends and adapt to new situations; tears and heart break always a part of it.\u00a0 \u00a0Transitions into middle school and high school, although difficult at times,\u00a0 helped shape them into the people they are today.\u00a0 There have been a lot of tears shed.\u00a0 We have faced difficult circumstances and people.\u00a0 But there has been an abundance of laughter and joy.\u00a0 The kind that makes your heart burst and your face light up.<\/p>\n
There has\u00a0been a lot of prayer and learning to trust.\u00a0 I’ve learned the even when circumstances aren’t what I would like them to be, God has my kids in His capable hands.\u00a0 And that as much as I love them and want the best for them, He loves them even more.\u00a0 He is not surprised by anything that they face and has\u00a0a plan for each one of them.<\/p>\n
So the tears flow.\u00a0 Partly because\u00a0I’m already grieving for the time when they leave and begin their own lives. (I really\u00a0enjoy them and will miss having them around!) \u00a0 But mostly, because I’m in awe of the amazing journey I’ve had with each of my children; the people we’ve met and the experiences we’ve had.\u00a0 It’s a testimony to God’s love, provision, and faithfulness.<\/p>\n
So those ladies were right, it does go by fast….I’m glad I took the time to\u00a0enjoy it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This week, I had to admit that ‘they’ were right…Those ladies who years ago would look at me with my five small children, smile, and then tell me to enjoy these years because they go by fast.\u00a0 I wanted to … Continue reading