Simply Following

What Memories Will My Children Have?

I’ve been thinking lately about what I want our home to be marked by…when my children think back to their childhood, what will they remember? What memories will they hold in their hearts? There are two things that I want our home to be about: Love and Laughter. I want first and formost for our children to know that we love the Lord. And second that their mommy and daddy are head over heels in love with each other. Next, that we love them unconditionally and that they would feel that love daily. Lastly, that we would be a family who loves and serves others through our home, that all who walk in it would feel the love of a family.

Second, I want our home to be filled with laughter. To hear my husband laugh as we share a story or to hear my children’s laugh at something silly being said. To hear their contagious giggles that make the stresses in the world fade away. I want to be in the moment with my children and husband. To show them how much they matter. And to make our home filled with joy!

I’ve probably mentioned it before or anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a perfectionist, which is something I am working on overcoming. It’s caused me to ask myself though, will whatever task or thing that I’m so focused on really matter 5-10 years from now? Am I going to remember the baby being on a perfect schedule, or instead will the snuggles and cuddles fill my mind and wishing for more of them? Am I going to think the house being perfectly clean was as important to listening to my girls read me their books or playing cars with my little guy? What memories will be etched in my children’s minds…will it be of me always cleaning and them not doing certain things because its not done as I would have or instead that they helped and were beside me doing the dishes or had the proud feeling of learning to sweep a floor? That while it maybe faster and easier for me to do things myself and they’ll be done as I want them to be, but am I making the most of my time with my children?

Sometimes I feel like I must do everything perfect…perfect mom, perfect wife, perfect pastor’s wife, perfect friend, perfect daughter, etc…But the root of my feeling that way is wrong. I realized that I feel that way because I feel like if I’m not people won’t like or accept me for me…that I must be the one who’s got it all together and doing everything for all people or else I won’t measure up. It goes all the way back to my childhood of looking for the approval of people and showing people that I could handle everything that was on me. When in reality I couldn’t and inside I just wanted to be me, the person God created me to be. Who doesn’t have everything together all the time, who’s house is messy at times but who is filled with joy overflowing because I’m who and where God wants me to be.

I want my marriage to be unforgettable and amazing. I want our children’s childhood memories to be special and to cherish their childhood as it’s such a short amount of years we have with them while their little. I want to really live life to the fullest and stop letting life pass me by or being so consumed with things that don’t matter. I want to truly invest into those around me…my husband, my kids, my friends. Not because I’m trying to please people or have everything perfect but because I want to truly redeem this time that the Lord has given me on this earth and make a meaningful impact. I want to live a life that leaves a mark. I want to spur on and encourage my husband to do everything big and small that God has called him to and for him to always know that his wife is his biggest cheerleader and will always be by his side. I want to train and equip our children to be able to be a light in this dark world and stand strong on truth. To train their hearts to be soften to the Lord so that they can hear and obey Him to do the things He’s called each one of them to do.

So I’ve been asking myself and I challenge you to ask yourself as well…What do I want my home to be about? What is our family mission statement? How are we gonna move from the mundane to living life to the fullest and making memories? And how am I going to do these things because if I don’t make a plan, they won’t happen.

Moving from the mundane to the exciting,

~Erin

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