Of Birthdays and Weddings

Last weekend we celebrated Budding Author's 7th birthday. It was a fun-filled time with friends and family. Birthdays of our children always cause me to pause... this year, more than any other year, I have been asking myself some difficult questions...

Are we nurturing him to become the unique human being he was created to be? Or are we attempting to create 'mini me' or 'mini hubby?' Are we providing him examples of beauty, purity, excellence and truth so that he will know a counterfeit when he sees one? Are we giving him the freedom to explore life for himself and allow God to speak directly to his heart? Or are we attempting to force-feed our faith on him, depriving him of the experience of knowing God for himself?

May we always attempt to simply plant and water the seed and allow God to do the rest. Budding Author is not me; he is not my husband. And we should never expect him to be such.

Weddings... aren't they the most amazing of reminders? We attended a beautiful outdoor wedding this weekend on Lake Grapevine. The bride entered in a horse-drawn carriage. It was just lovely. Little Mommy said she was 'just like a princess.' And she was. The love between the bride and groom is firmly-rooted in faith. The joy was ours to celebrate with them.

Weddings also cause me to pause... these moments in a life; these chapters; these stones of remembrance. Weddings are reminders that hope continues, it lives and thrives. Despite all of the challenge this life presents, hope endures and peeks from the rubble of life every single sunrise.

May hope be yours today!