Cherish the Time

One lesson in a split, blended family is that the time you have together must be cherished.  I believe this should be a lesson for everyone.  Children grow up.  They move on with their lives.  Times together become more difficult to achieve.  It used to be that families tried to stay together, living in the same communities, so that they could be close.  However, now-a-days that isn't the case.  Families are spread out, living far away from each other.  Contact usually occurs more often through social network sites and text messaging, with visits reserved for holidays and birthdays... if you're lucky.

With teenagers that work and have busy lives, a step-daughter that splits her time between two homes, and a husband that works midnights, times where we can all be together is challenging.  I know that the days where my teenagers are leaving their shoes in the middle of the floor and their stuff in the entryway is limited.  God is going to move them into their own lives.  That's the way it should be.  So, I cherish the times we have.  I cherish the few times we splurge, drink only water, and go for pizza anyway.  I cherish the holiday traditions like getting and decorating the tree.

I still have some time with my little ones.  Laura is only ten and Megan is only three.  However, I know that they all grow up very quickly.  It seems like only yesterday that my oldest was three, not nineteen.

Cherish the time with your children.  Enjoy the time you are privileged to be with them.  Count yourself as blessed if you can homeschool them.  Love them with all you have.  Teach them to love and honor our Lord and Savior.  Do that, and our time with them won't end when this earthly life is over.  We will have an eternity with them in heaven.