Gabe's 6th Year

Gabe - it's been a fabulous year.  We have crammed a lot in!  Looking back through photographs makes me a teensy bit sad....already another year has gone by.  Time flies...and sometimes it feels monotonous.  We get up every day and go to work and go to school....we do what we have to.  But you know what?  We've also done a lot of what we wanted to.  You have had a lot of great firsts this year!  We've spent time in service to others.  We've spent time being silly.  We've chalked up another year to the memories category.....but what joyous memories!

You celebrated a graduation from ABC Learning Center, and transitioned to our dear friends the Flukes for care throughout the summer before beginning kindergarten in the fall....

You had your first dentist visit....

Your first organized baseball team experience!

You've helped your family celebrate some important milestones!

You LOVED your first camping/fishing/canoeing/archery experiences!!!

You lost a "few" teeth (SIX of them, before your 6th birthday)....

And you've thoroughly enjoyed play time with your sisters and family....

And being all-out silly!!!!

Some of what I'm most proud of though, is your enthusiasm for school, and your creativity and work product.  I enjoy watching you rush off the bus, and be SO excited to show me what you've done, that you dump your papers on the front step....and to watch you draw, paint, and make all kinds of fun creations!  I pray that this little creative spark will always be embedded in your soul!  :)

It seems a lifetime ago that I first held this in my arms....

...but also a mere moment ago.

Six years.  Six WONDERFUL years!!

I pray for myself....that I can be the best woman and mother that I possibly can be....so that you can be led to be the best possible boy and man that YOU can be!  I pray God's hand over us, Gabe.  I pray that He will always be the reason for all that we do....and glimpses of His love be abundant in our actions, words, and thoughts.  

I've loved EVERY. MOMENT. of the ride thus far.  I love you, Gabe.  

~Mom  <3

A Meditation

Each year my church puts together a booklet of meditations written by members for the Lent season.  I am lucky enough to get to write one for this year's booklet again, and have been working on it for the past few days.  This little booklet is such a blessing to me every year - I love getting a glimpse of how my fellow church members are reading and applying scripture to their lives, and the things that are important to them at this given moment.  Below, is my contribution for the 2015 Lenten booklet.

Scripture:  “¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

Meditation:

There are days I find it easy and thrilling to do things that honor God.  These days, the opportunities are usually glaringly obvious because they’re not part of my normal routine.  For example…the day I met Josh, who was behind me in the grocery store line.  He had a small pile of groceries, and a young girl with him.  There was a whisper to my heart….”buy this man’s groceries.”  I obeyed….Josh was incredulous…and then truly joyful!  I gave them a ride home – I happened to be at the store alone, and had an available carseat, so Josh didn’t have to make the trek home, trying to wrangle a two-year-old while carrying the groceries.  The best part is, I hadn’t planned to be in this Dillon’s, as I’d already been to one grocery store and purchased the bulk of my groceries.  But on the drive home, I realized I’d forgotten an important item, and had to make a further stop.  I call that Providence.  And I call that thrilling and fun, and an example of an easy time to do something in the name of the Lord Jesus while giving thanks to God!

It’s in “the routine” that I run into problems with fulfilling this scripture.  I’m not typically giving much thanks in the moment that I’m picking up dirty socks and toys for the eleventh time.  The days that I face the same work grind.  These are not bad days…but the thrill of dirty socks does not compare to the thrill of buying groceries for someone in need.  But on days like these, spent with the people that see me most often, and definitely at my worst…..I want to be mindful of this scripture always, and seek ways to follow it.  I pray that God will show me the ways to turn even the smallest, mundane and annoying tasks into ways to inject grace, love and joy into the daily lives of those whose paths I cross. 

Prayer:  God, help us all to etch this scripture on our hearts and in our minds.  Guide and direct us so that we may find glaringly obvious ways to honor you in all we do…….even in the tasks that involve dirty socks.  Amen!