We are approaching a time of year that is going to be very hard on me and my mom. It will be my dad's first birthday he is spending with Jesus instead of us. It is a little over a week away but for the past few days my mind has been wondering back to the "good ol' days" back when I would wake up in the morning in my upstairs bedroom, with no worries, no problems, no bills and no clue :). I really never had any major responsibility growing up as some children unfortunately have. Life was simple in my world even though at the time it may not of seemed that way to me, every child feels that way at least one time in their life I suppose :) I miss those days when all I had to worry about was what color I was going to wear and how big I could get my hair. I was a child who was allowed to be a child and I wasn't expected to grow up before my time and looking back I realize that I am a blessed adult to of had all the experiences I had growing up.
Now that I am a mother, I realize my daughter faces a different world than I did. A world that at every turn seems to desire to rob her of her innocence. We live in a society that seems to push sin upon our children with no shame. Gone are the days that a child can set down and watch cartoons without a parent worrying whether or not that the material is appropriate for them to view. Gone are the days we can send our child to school without worrying whether or not they will come home and while they are there what inappropiate material they are being taught in the classroom, material that has nothing to do with education and learning. (I'll not even go there in this post) What happened to school supplies meaning a new character lunch box, a new pencil box full of glue, scissors, crayons and shiny pencils and of course the latest and greatest trapper keeper? The school supplies being bought now are laptops, blue tooths, blackberries and birth control. Lord help us. Sure some of the things today make life easier and are not all bad. Overall though we have become a society so busy that we sacrifice the most precious gift besides salvation that God has given us....relationships with each other and with Him. We work day and night to provide the latest and greatest thing for our children when all that really means anything in the long run is the gift of our time.
The bible tells us in Jeremiah 6:16 "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein and ye shall find rest for your souls"
Please don't go to the extreme and feel I am saying in order to have the "old paths" we must go back to no electricity and well water, I believe with all my heart God is telling us to choose the important things in life, go back to when life wasn't so complicated and live life to when it is over there will be no regrets, spend time with your loved ones and tell them what they mean to you. God knows when you put the most important things first then and only then will you be at peace.
After dad went home to be with God, it isn't his personal items he left that are important to me, it is the memories of the times we shared together, the love he had for me and the lessons he taught me that mean the most. Those things are what I cherish most and I hope to pass onto Jaden. They far outway any material thing I could ever leave her. As God allows and the generations pass I pray that my children and theirs will always be left a legacy of love and memories of their own walk down the "old paths"
I'll leave you with this thought: Life is too short to be focused on anything other than God and the people you love.
Happy Birthday Dad. "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you" Philippians 1:3
