Mark and I got to spend our first night away from Zoey…well
actually TWO nights, this past weekend.
While the grandparents got to enjoy some quality time with her, we were
able to getaway and spend some much needed quality time with each other.
Sure, we missed her and talked about her A LOT, looking at
pictures at night of our adorable little gift from God. But it was strange how much we realized our
lives have changed since having her. Our
brains our constantly aware of what needs to be taken care in every moment:
diaper changing, snack time, keeping her from killing herself on that cliff…ya
know the usual. Your brains never have a
chance to shut off. And this is just
with ONE.
Soon we will have two and it will be even harder. So this was much needed time for us as a
couple, to remind ourselves of one another, our love that started it all, and
to just have some FUN! Walking the streets
of San Diego at night, past 7, seemed crazy.
We almost forgot that life continued outside the home after Zoey’s
bedtime. In Tanzania, there’s really
nothing to go do at night so we usually stay in.
Beyond our time of refreshment with one another, though, I
was able to have some quality time with Lord that I haven’t had in a
while. I had one of those Aha! Moments where I didn’t realize how
much I have missed time with Him until I was there alone, with no distractions. It felt SOOOO good.
I spent some time reflecting on this past year and realized
that it was harder than I even thought while I was in the midst of it. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good first year
in a new country, new culture, learning a new language. But it was really tough too. Mark even mentioned to me that I have been
laughing a lot more since we’ve been back.
I won’t go into the details of what made it so hard…that’s for another
time.
I also took advantage of some quiet reading time as I had
found a book left here in our storage called Spiritual Parenting. As I was reading it from the perspective
of raising our own children, God started to spark new flames in my heart a
passion for teaching families in Tanzania the importance of their spiritual
influence on their children’s lives and what discipleship can look like. Children are often left to discover these
things on their own in their culture and the teaching is left to others. But I have a new desire to see Pastors and
leaders providing resources to their church/community members and beyond on how
to raise their children beyond the day to day tasks, but to raise them to have
faith in the Lord.
The family unit is the beginning of social change because
children who are raised in healthy homes have a chance to contribute to the
much needed healing in our broken world.
This is something I had never thought about…I always focused on meeting
people’s immediate needs for sustainable jobs, employment, physical health, etc,
which are all great things. But the Lord
has stirred in me a much needed renewal of passion for his people. And ALL of this because Mark and I got to
have some space for just the two of us without Zoey!
Which reminded me of the one of the most important lessons
we must learn as parents: if we don’t take the time to renew and grow
spiritually, how are we able to teach our children to do the same? We are separate beings from our children who
need love and care from our heavenly father.
So all you moms out there that feel guilty for taking time
away from your children, thinking it’s a luxury that’s just not possible…MAKE
IT HAPPEN and stop feeling guilt! We
need it, our children need it, our families need it, and the Lord needs it!
Here’s to our soon-to-be family of FOUR! May the Lord keep us close to His heart and
provide many opportunities for us to abide in His word as we hope and pray to
pass along a passion for His name to the many generations to come.
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