As we were walking around though, I was thinking about how much easier it is to go to the mall these days. Just a few years ago, I had a huge strolled to pack up, baby bags to stuff underneath, a little one snuggled against my chest in a carrier, multiple little hands to hold. Walking around with my elementary kids today was so easy by comparison, but there was a part of me that felt sad. I find as we get farther away from the baby phase, I miss parts of it at unexpected moments.
I also try to remember though, that soon enough I'm going to miss this stage we are in the same way, so I need to enjoy it while I can. I have a blog friend, Maria, with kids in their teens and twenties, and reading her posts reminds me how quickly this elementary school stage is going to be behind me. There are not even that many Christmases left before the first of my kids grows up! That's hard to think about. Life is so fleeting, isn't it?
So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.Psalm 90:12
I was thinking of this verse today, as I was thinking about how quickly each stage of family life passes by. The context of this verse tells reminds us that though a thousand years is like yesterday to the Lord, our eighty years on this earth are fleeting and full of trouble - trouble that we have brought on ourselves because of our sin. There is wisdom in realizing that death is closer than we all think, and that we deserve God's wrath because of our sin. But for believers in Christ, there is joy and gladness in the mercy that God has showered on us by giving us His Son! Jesus took God's wrath upon Himself so that we do not have to suffer the punishment we deserve.
Return, O Lord!
How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.Psalm 90:13
I love the last few verses of that Psalm. In this church age, verse 13 reminds me that Jesus is coming again, and the next verses remind me of His grace to His children in the meantime. Grace to show us how He is working despite the curse of sin we live with here, grace to allow us to be a part of His work in the world. Grace to shower the beauty of the knowledge of Who He is upon us, and to let us have the chance to pass His glory on to our children. That's really what Christmas is all about, isn't it? Pointing our kids to Him, using our time wisely in teaching them about why He came as a baby on the first Christmas, showing them His glory, which we are reminded of so much this time of year.
This December I have been in a more Christmas-y spirit than I have in years, as I've been pondering the reason for Christmas a little more often! And I've especially been enjoying this season of Christmas with my kids. The last couple weeks have been filled with Christmas movie nights, driving around to look at Christmas lights, multiple Christmas parties, present wrapping. We are still doing a little bit of school this week (a very little bit), but some of that school is going to involve baking and Christmas books. Every night we do Advent, opening the little jars filled by my in-laws, reading a devotional sent by my aunt. This stage with elementary-aged kids is a special one, when all the kids are home, and we can fully enjoy Christmas traditions together as a family...as we seek to turn our eyes to the glory and beauty of the One who satisfies us with His mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad in Him!
So here we are, soaking all of that up this Christmas - the joy of the season, and the sorrow of these fading years, all mixed together into a happy expectation of the Christmases we spend here, while waiting for our Savior to return.
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