lent :: ponder

"Beneath me stood my beautiful child who had suddenly dropped her pink bunny and stopped sucking her thumb so she could hold up her arms to me—just like she did when she was a baby.
I turned away from the burning toast, the unmade school lunches, and the unsigned homework folders.
I turned away from distraction and toward what, or who, really mattered.
I opened my arms and scooped her up—just like I did when she was a baby.
Although her gangly arms and legs felt awkward as they wrapped around my neck and waist, her head still fit perfectly in the crook of my neck. She nuzzled in. This little girl planned to stay for a while.
As I hugged my child’s body tightly, a painful admission from a reader of my blog came to mind:
I am now in my sixties.
I wish I had known then what I know now. I lost a lot of opportunities with my children and the people I love because I was busy doing things I thought were “important.”
My current relationship with my children is okay, but I can only imagine what it would be like now if I had spent more time with them, talking to them, and laughing with them. I think they managed to have those meaningful experiences in life, but it wasn’t with me.
Tell your readers that the cost of distraction is mighty high. It can cost you your life and your happiness. Take it from someone who knows.

In that moment, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude. By the grace of God, there was still time to live and love.
I have today. Yesterday is gone. All the mistakes, failures, poor choices, and the things I wish I could do over, they are gone.
Today stands before me with arms wide open.
All I have to do is grasp it."

from Hands Free Mama
via A Holy Experience