Plants, Puppies, And Parenthood

Parenting

The most wistful responses mentioned relationships. “A smile, a hug, a kiss. A sleeping child. A baby’s giggle. Childhood: our babies grew up way too fast.”

And all the parents said “amen.”

Like every mother who went before me, I will pass along a stubborn truth: The days are long, but the years are short. This truth usually can’t be realized until you’ve lived through those years and are forced by milestones, troubles, or joys to look back in awe (and sometimes panic) at how much time has passed. Our children refuse to stay babies. A goal in childhood is to grow taller than one’s parents. And while the day they meet that goal comes earlier for some, it is often one of those moments of clarity for mom or dad.

Charles Dickens: “Time and tide will wait for no man, saith the adage. But all men have to wait for time and tide.”

This baby right here? He is staring down his final year of high school. I did not always savor the little moments, but I’ve gotten better as time goes on. One year consists of many weeks, hundreds of days, and thousands of moments. Like a hibiscus, here today and gone tomorrow, so are the moments we have with our kids. And yes, I’m talking to myself when I encourage us all to be fully present, to delight in those moments we want to remember, maybe have someone else take the photo so we can just let the sensations wash over without distraction.

Let’s take the same approach to life in general. In the Psalms, David compared a human life to that of a flower: “The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field” (103:15). Isaiah proclaimed, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass” (40:7). Ask anyone who has lost a child or a parent unexpectedly. The years are short.

But those who love the Lord do not despair at the passing of time. He assures his people that he, the timeless one, holds our lives in his hand. He gives us glimpses of his eternal, glorious beauty in the amazing creation that bears witness to its Creator. Every time we stop to stare at a sunset, smell a flower, nuzzle a puppy’s fur, or snuggle a baby, we pay homage to the giver of all good gifts.

Our pasts cannot be reclaimed. But we can treasure the present, beginning right now to capture those moments of beauty, peace, love, and wholeness. And one day, when these moments are our past, we will not just think back, but rather we will savor the memories and thank God for his grace.