Sadly I know that not everyone can say this but I must say that I owe so much to my parents. More than I'll ever really know I'm sure.
Lightning crashed and thunder rolled as I kissed my sweet 11 year old daughter Auria goodnight tonight. Upon exiting I made a quick comment telling her, "Enjoy the lightening show!" of which she looked out the window and said, "I will."
Sometimes as a mother of older kids and teenagers there are circumstances that make me reflective. Recently much of what goes on in my life and that of my kids' is the developmental guidance that steers towards adulthood. That of which, mentally, is much more exhaustive than I would have imagined. Not that I don't love the season we are in because I do. I have enjoyed every season as it came and went with it's ups and downs, as challenging as it may have been. But this season weighs so heavily on me as a mother because I know they are well on their way to being adults. I don't take my responsibilities lightly.
As I sat outside and watched that lightning I thought about how strong Auria is. She isn't afraid of the lightning or thunder anymore. She doesn't remember waking up in the middle of the night crying as a little girl afraid. She doesn't remember me holding her close and rocking her during the many storms that scared her. She doesn't remember me telling her that its going to be alright and not to be afraid. She lives in the now. Auria doesn't remember how she became strong.
As an adult I've forgotten how I've become strong. There are bits and pieces of my memory that allow me to remember glimpses of my childhood, but I could never grasp all that it took to invest in me as my parents can. I have been blessed with parents that have done their best. They had rough upbringings and had rough lives in general yet by God's grace they raised me to be strong, to love God and to pass that on to the next generation.
I thank God for that lightning storm, the memories of my mom's cuddles in her gi-normous fluffy green robe, my dad talking me into jumping off roofs and all the things that the Lord has put in my path along the way that has made me, my daughter and the generations to come strong.
Thank you Mom and Dad, I love you.
"There have been meetings of only a moment which have left impressions for life ...for eternity. No one can understand that mysterious thing we call ‘influence’ ...yet everyone of us continually exerts influence, either to heal, to bless, to leave marks of beauty; or to wound, to hurt, to poison, to stain other lives." ~J.B. Miller
