Friday, May 21, 2010

Slow Down, Sister

I read this article today and found it really insightful. The theme is fascinating to me; slow down seems to ring in some way from every one of them. I've learned a lot in the past few years about the importance of slowing down as I've battled a lot of health issues, but I'm not sure it's really sunk in all the way. What really stands out to me is that these women wish they had slowed down in their lives 25-some-odd years ago, and we all know that our culture has only moved faster and faster every day since. Slowness is going to take a lot of commitment.

If I Could Be a Young Mom Again
Mary May Larmoyeux

As I peeked in on our sleeping 2-year-old grandson recently, I thought, You look just like your daddy did!
It seems like yesterday when our grown son was the toddler; I was the young mom checking on him during a mid-day nap.
Sometimes I wonder, What would I do differently if I could somehow be that young mother again ... knowing what has taken me decades to learn?
Well, I think I would slow down the pace of life and not be so involved in outside activities. I would organize more family nights where we just hung out together without any agenda. I would play a few more games and sit on the deck more often as a family, watching shooting stars or fireflies light the night sky. And I'd ask more questions because I'd realize that sin is the natural bent for a child until he knows Jesus personally.
I asked some other grandmothers what they would do differently if they could somehow turn back the hands of time and be a young mother again. Here's what they said:
I’d have spent more guilt-free time with my kids lying in the grass picking out cloud animals, playing board games on rainy days, or making a mess creating some work of art in the kitchen. Those are the times I remember, not how clean the bathtub was.
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I would connect my children more closely to their grandparents. Looking back, I wish I had made it a greater priority to make the trek “over the highway and through the freeway to grandmother's house.” Grandparents can expand a child's view of the world so much “grander” than a parent, just by their life experiences.
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I wish I had taught my children more about their heritage ... to help them see that who they have become is partially a result of what has gone before them. There is so much more to know than where relatives came from. What was it like to live in a particular country or neighborhood or home? I think, had I studied my parents more, I would have been better able to teach my kids about them. For instance, it was just before my dad died that I learned he loved to sing as a young boy/man and was in an a cappella choir throughout his school years. It gave me a new insight to him as an elderly man who was always humming or listening to music. There is so much more depth to my parents that will be lost forever because I failed to prospect for the value of the experience.
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I would stop and read to/with them a lot more often and would enjoy simple times, like tending a garden, rather than resenting the request as an intrusion in the list of things I needed to get done.
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I would share the love of the Lord and not just the rules of good behavior. I think I often confused compliance with understanding.
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I wish that I had relaxed and enjoyed my little children more instead of trying to make everything “perfect” for them . . . the years go so fast!
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I would pray more purposefully for the development of their character and their comprehension of the Lord, not just for the Lord's hand in crisis situations.
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I'd invest more time in learning how to be a better steward of my time and money so I could teach my children to be better stewards.
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I'd spend more time reading the Bible and praying. As a young mom, I sometimes got too busy with my housework and family and met with God at the end of the day when I was too tired to concentrate.
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I would have more one-on-one times with the kids—taking short trips around our city and state, just making special memories.
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I would include them in volunteering around our city and let them know about all the things we can do to help others. I would also ask them to join me in making and delivering food and crafts to shut-ins, the sick, and those less fortunate than we were.
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I would give myself permission to not use the same approach with each child. I thought that using the same approach was being fair and not showing favoritism. However, I’ve learned that each child is unique and that they mature at different ages. So, the rules for one may not necessarily be the rules for another (for example the age to start dating, driving, the setting of curfew times, etc.). The “rules” need to be adaptable according to each child’s maturity and willingness to accept responsibility.
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I'd be patient and make pleasant memories with my children so they wouldn't remember all the times I was in a hurry, or mad, or unhappy and discontent. Instead they'd remember a mom who was patient, kind, and loving with them.
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During the teen years I was dealing with disrespect or being ignored, and I allowed that to stifle me. I wish I had gone into their rooms then at bedtime and told them how much I loved them, asked how I could pray, and hugged them.
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I would have more humor in my home. Humor is like flour in a recipe and it brings it all together.
God sure teaches mothers a lot as they raise their children!
While it's impossible for any grandmother to go back in time and raise her now grown children again, young moms, you are raising your children right now.
So, as one grandmother suggested, "Run and play with your kids. Be a child again. Your dirty house will be there tomorrow, but the children will soon be gone."
Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.
—Proverbs 19:20 (NIV)
*Many thanks to Arlene, Betty, Carole, Judi, Judy, Karen, Kathy F., Kathy H, Linda, Margo, Mary D., Mary S., Mary T., Rita, Toni
Mary May Larmoyeux is a writer and editor for FamilyLife. She is the author of My Heart’s at Home: Encouragement for Working Moms, co-author of There’s No Place Like Home: Steps to Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom, and co-author of the Resurrection Eggs® Activity Book.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous6:15 PM

    Such a good reminder. Someone has told me this, and it is so true, "the days are long, but the years are short." There are days that drag by, but not all of them. And trust me, the years are flying by. A will be 4 in 4 months (sniff) and W is almost a year and a half. I can't believe how fast they're growing. Thanks for sharing! :)

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