I will only say one thing...when I read the letters within, I cried... ♥ And since I vowed to keep my lips sealed, I will say no more. Pictures & details will be posted on this later... After the fact. :)
It's been a crazy, busy, wonderful past month with Thanksgivings & Christmas'...
Sewing...
Sewing...
Sewing...
School...
Bible reading...
Bible reading...
Bible reading (we are in 1 Thessalonians)...
Family gatherings...
Broken hips...
Hospital visits...
Shopping...
Shopping...
Shopping...
Movies...
Family time...
Baking...
Cooking...
Creating...
Card ordering...
Picture taking...
Decorating...
Decorating...
Decorating...
Elf hiding (and finding)...
Egg collecting...
Can you believe it's mid-December & Christmas is only 12 days away... I can't.
I really hadn't planned to sit & blog this morning as I have much to accomplish in this day yet as I attempted to sleep last night, God kept bringing the same thing to my remembrance over and over and over again & I felt compelled to share...
I find people watching as entertaining as I do shopping so as Kyle, MaKayla & Mal journeyed around the mall last night, I sat & observed.
Young & old.
Short & tall.
Stick thin & overweight.
High-maintenance & attractively simple.
Couples ~ friends.
Men & women.
Boys & girls.
Glowingly pregnant... ♥
One thing in particular I repeatedly observed...
Girls are seen & treated as objects.
I would glance at men, young & old, watch young girls as they walked along...
And I wondered...
What are they thinking?
What are they seeing?
What are they envisioning?
To be honest, it was quite disturbing...
Unsettling...
Heartbreaking...
All I could do was intently pray that some day, one day, God will faithfully provide our girls with integral young men to lead, to love, to nurture & to care for mine & Kyle's two most precious blessings...
MaKayla & Mal...
I see these young girls, many of them very obviously in impure relationships, & I wonder if they realize the damage in giving their hearts & bodies away...
To anyone & everyone...
Before marriage...
And I pray for God's mercy.
And just as that thought completes it's cycle, my eyes catch the picture of a precious pre-school aged little girl...
Left hand holding Mommy's...
Right hand holding Daddy's...
Pink shirt...
Sweet leggings...
Black fuzzy boots...
Blonde curls bouncing with each skip she took...
And I wonder...
Do they grasp the reality that day-by-ever-fragile-day, this one that they hold the hands of is growing up...
She won't be this little forever.
Do they grasp that the way they are allowing her to act, dress, speak & carry herself at the age of three, four, five, six, seven, will spill over...
She's developing personality.
Do they grasp the concept that this little one now, will all-too-soon be an adolescent & then a teenager & then a young woman...
She's becoming someone.
I wonder if they stepped back & pictured this precious one ten or fifteen years down the road, would they do things differently now?
Sadly, like me, most parent's don't consider the "then"...
They only see the "now"...
And then the years are gone.
Even when our babies are babies & then toddlers & then pre-schoolers & then young children...
We are raising adults.
What we promote & allow of them now, will be who they become in future years.
Boys & girls alike.
What they watch (movies)...
What they see (tv shows/commercials)...
What they listen to (music)...
What they hear (foul language/disrespectful tones)...
What they wear (modest or immodest)...
How they act...
How they respect...
How they treat...
How they carry themselves...
Some things may be cute/funny/entertaining today...
But tomorrow...
The choices they are allowed to make today are shaping them for tomorrow & for next week & for next month & for next year & for the years to come.
If you don't believe me...
Go park yourself in a mall & observe.
Dear parents...
Take a moment & consider...
It will be worth every moment of your time.
Blessings to you on this wintry Friday. ♥
