The Gift of Time

Today I was given the most precious gift anyone can receive. Time. Time is the one resource that no one can control. We cannot rewind it, pause it, or even speed it up at our will. As parents, we really appreciate and understand how short childhood is. We, or at least I do, realize how valuable time is with our children.

My daughter and I have been praying every morning and every night that she would get to stay home with me in the summer. Since she was three years old, she has been made to spend the summers with her dad. She goes for six-weeks, which is a long time for a little girl (and for a momma!). It is a major source of stress for both of us, and many tears are shed over it. Most kids long for school to be out, mine dreads it.

Today we learned that she will be home with me all summer. We literally cried we were so thankful and happy. Together we said a prayer of thanksgiving and talked about how thankful we were. Then planned out all the fun things that we could do together. I am going to really have to remind my daughter that we need to continue to thank God that she is home.

As for me, I am consumed with a feeling of inadequacy. I desperately want to show Jesus how thankful I am; I want to repay him for this gift for which I have begged. Then I kick myself, because obviously Jesus gave me (and you) an even more precious gift when He died on the cross for our sins. I guess these little (big to me...) miracles remind us of the major miracle and serve to renew us and refocus us on His will.

I am scrambling in my mind to find a way to properly thank Jesus. I know that it cannot be done. We can never repay Him for all the unconditional love we receive. I do know that He wants a personal relationship with us and for us to live for Him. In place of praying for my girl to stay home for the summer, I will now pray for open eyes, ears, and heart in order to understand what I can do to live for Him. I will continue to pray this with my daughter, also, because it is important that she sees this as an answered prayer.

Time on earth is so short compared to the time we will spend in Heaven. I fully recognize that Jesus has heard our prayer. I hope that I will remain focused on doing His will. We are all touched by God working in our lives. I pray that you can recognize where He is working in yours.