WHAT I WANT MY KIDS TO KNOW

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Warning: Heavy Mom Content!


Time is what we want most, but… what we use worst.  ~William Penn

A very tragic thing happened in our neighborhood this week. A mother went to work the night shift. She’s a nurse at a nearby hospital. The dad was home thinking his three boys were all in bed asleep. Little did he know that his 17 year old son had snuck out of the house to meet some friends behind a movie theater nearby. Earlier in the day, he bought LSD from a “friend”. He met 15 of his friends to experiment with this new drug. The story that I was told was this: he began convulsing shortly after he took the pills. The friends called 911. Twelve of the fifteen kids ran away. The other three stayed until the EMS came. After he arrived at the hospital, he was put into a coma to stop the convulsions. He died a few days later. When the mother left for work that night, could she have ever in a million years thought it would be the last time she would see her son?
 
My heart aches for that family. I drive by their house at least five times a day. Today, I drove by a little slower and I prayed. I prayed that they would find peace. 
 
As I get older, I am learning that time is so precious. 
 
When I was younger, I remember hoping that time would move quicker so I could do….(fill in the blank) ~ drive, date, work, finish school, move into my own place. You get the idea.
 
Now I can’t pray hard enough for everything to SLOW DOWN PLEASE!
 
I watch my kids grow from babies to adults in the blink of an eye. Sometimes, I get in a panic wondering if I have taught them everything I’m supposed to before they go off on their own. AHHHH!!
 
Maybe I feel this passionate about it because my own father passed away unexpectedly when I was 13 years old. 

This is one of only a few pictures I have of my dad. He was always behind the camera.

That experience made me treasure family, time, my health and the health of my loved ones more than if I hadn’t experienced such a loss. 
 
Two years ago, I was the same age my dad was when I lost him. I couldn’t help but think of how that same heart break would affect my children.
 
WHAT I WANT MY KIDS TO KNOW
 
1. I want you to know that God loves you more than your parents do (I can’t even fathom how much that is!). 
Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.





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2.  I want you to know that you are AWESOME just the way you are.
People will want to change you. The world will want to change you. I just want you to know you are the BEST you you can be! You have so much to offer the world. GO FOR IT!



3. Don’t let fear  stop you from doing what you know is right. 
Fear is a good thing. It helps you to be aware, cautious, slow to respond. Think about what you want to do, what you believe God wants you to do. Then step out in faith knowing you’re making the best decision. The best decisions are usually the hardest. 
“Decide that you want it more than you’re afraid of it.”
~Bill Cosby~

4. Love with all your heart.
You are blessed to have people in your life to love. Don’t be afraid to show it. Tell them how much they mean to you. It may be the last thing you get to tell them!


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 5. Work hard BUT have fun.
Whatever you do, be able to say “I did my best” and be proud of it. Work hard first, but don’t forget to have fun. Enjoy life!



6. Be honest.
Honesty really is the best policy ~ even if it makes you look bad.
We tell lies when we are afraid… afraid of what we don’t know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us.  But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger.  ~Tad Williams

 

7. Be kind.
A nice gesture, a friendly smile, a kind word could be the only nice thing someone hears in a day. Make it count!



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8. Use your gifts to serve others.
God has blessed you with many gifts. Use them to help others.
“And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:44-45 

9. Be a good example.
There are many eyes looking up to you. Remember that your influence may touch so many people. Make it a great influence!




10. You have far exceeded your parents’ expectations.
We expect a lot of you. The reason we expect so much is because we know how great you are.  We love you more than you’ll ever know (until you have your own children). AND we are so proud of you!!


I know all you moms out there feel exactly like me. Time is so precious and slips away so fast. We all need to treasure every moment, say what we need to say. Don’t think I’ll do/say it later. There may not be a later. The mother I wrote about at the beginning of this post has no more laters with her son. 

Now, go give your whole family big hugs and tell them how much you love them!! I know I will!



Love y’all,
Linda 



4 Comments

  1. This is a great post! My 3 children are all out on their own now, but I occasionally wish we could go back about 25 years to when they were growing up. Time just goes faster than we think it will, and before we know it, the kids are all grown up. It’s so important to enjoy those years.

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