I believe I’ve entered the phase of life where I’d be perfectly fine freezing the age of my children. Freezing myself and my husband isn’t a bad idea, come to think of it. Although I’d have preferred to have gotten started on that much sooner. 😉

I just always want my son, with his cold little feet, to crawl into my lap for snuggles. Or to shout with unbelievable joy as he looks outside to discover “Wow! The lake is all snowed up!”

I want to freeze my oldest daughter, who still looks at me with admiration and wants to hold my hand as we walk into the grocery store to shop together. And to freeze my second born, with her exuberant energy that keeps the entire household on its toes.

And then there’s baby Willow. As she might very well be the last little cutie added to our brood, I’ll always want to enjoy the baby giggles and kissing those soft little baby cheeks and nose!

I am selfish. I want them this way always. To be with me always.

But it only takes a few of these thoughts to send gentle reminders toward my heart and I know that I cannot have what I want. So I type with tear-stained cheeks that which keeps me focused.

I am reminded that we cannot cling to our lives or we will lose them. Our time on earth is meant for a greater purpose. We are to make disciples – not just those whose lives we encounter as we live but those whose lives we are raising under our own roofs.

I must number my days in such a way that I enjoy the time I have with them. They are only on loan to me, after all, from God. Such a humbling, magnificent thing! And I remind myself that before my spirit returns to God there is much work to do.

I am to direct these little souls onto correct paths so that when they step into the world as adults they’re prepared to do God’s work. I must mold them through love and discipline. I must use the time I have to speak life into them.

And as the years pass on and I watch them grow I will continue to fill God up with the prayers for their past, present and future. Asking for healing for their hurts, wisdom through their experiences, and His hand of protection over their faith for their futures.

I can’t keep them little. I can’t stop the clock. But I can remember what these years are truly for and invest every last available second into them.

I used to love a quote by Horace Mann – “each golden hour is set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for it is gone forever.” Such a beautiful quote, however, I must disagree with his last statement. For now I see how incredibly great the reward is.

Those minutes are certainly behind us, but if we are investing, they are truly never gone.

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him…” (Psalm 127:3, NLT)