Friday, March 20, 2009

That was Easy

Have you ever noticed that children can enjoy the simplest of things? Like a great big box, or a pile of leaves, or even a clump of dirt? My adult mind cannot remember how these simple things can bring such joy. But my son reminded me of that fact just the other day.
Joshua and his friend wanted to take a walk to an undeveloped area in the neighborhood next to ours, but I didn't want them to go without an adult. Since I'm an adult, Joshua asked if I would take them.

So, I did.

It was a nice walk - rather long - and I enjoyed listening to the boys talking about important fifth grade stuff.
You know. Like, who ran fastest in gym class. And did so-and-so really mean it when she said she liked so-and-so? Because she really sounded like she was being serious. But it might be that she's just good at acting.
You know. Important stuff like that.

When we made it back to the undeveloped area (After discussing what we would do if those big paw prints we saw were from a bear, and it came out chasing us, etc.) the boys ran over to the pond they saw and started throwing rocks into it. And they threw rocks into the stream that fed into the pond.
They discovered that if they threw bigger rocks into the stream, the rocks stirred up the dirt and made a very cool fog effect in the water. And that fog thing was rather entertaining to them.
But then one of the boys picked up an even bigger rock, and threw it in with even greater force, and the very large splash it produced brought even more delight than the fog effect from the stirred-up dirt. Now Joshua and his friend were running around gathering large rocks and throwing them into the stream - with sound effects - pretending they were releasing bombs.
And as I stood back to watch, the boys busied themselves "bombing" unsuspecting piles of dirt in the stream. For a minute I forgot these were fifth grade boys, as their squeals of delight sounded much more like those of a toddler. But, indeed, they were the same boys who had been discussing girls just moments before.

After a while, I looked at my watch and told the boys it was time to start heading home. Of course, Joshua had to throw just a couple more bombs first. But then we were on our way. And as we left the war zone, Joshua must have thanked me five or six times for bringing them on this walk. "This was so much fun!" he said, over and over.
All I could think was how easy it was to bring my son so much joy. In fact, I didn't "do" anything. I just walked with him, and let him be a boy. Honestly, I didn't even understand why he was having so much fun. But the squeals, the laughter, and the overflowing thankfulness convinced me. This walk was a good thing. And I felt like I had hit a home run by agreeing to it.

I wish all of mothering was that easy for me. I would love it if I always felt like the decisions I made brought joy to my children. It would be wonderful to feel like I might actually be in the running for "Mother of the Year."
But most days I fall short in one way or another. A day rarely goes by when I do not feel like I have blown it - somehow. This mother is still trying, still struggling, still clinging to God.
But one thing is for sure. The next time Joshua asks me to take that walk with him, my answer will be an immediate YES!

May the peace of Christ rule in your heart and mind this weekend!

Loving Jesus,

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12 comments:

luvmy4sons said...

No wonder Jesus said we must be like little children to enter the kigdom of God. What a lovely story! And you get my vote for mother of the year! I don't know what it is about rocks and water and boys...but mine do the same thing!

Jessica Nelson said...

Awwww, that is SO cute!
I know what you mean. Yesterday my two year old sat for thirty minutes straight and trickled dirt over his knees. Go figure. My four year old stayed busy with a "lasso" and a tree too. They're so adorable.

Kelly said...

Some times things can seem so inconvenient (walk?!? I have laundry to do!), yet what a big impact they make. So glad you went!

Melanie said...

Sounds like a "little" walk led to "big" results.

My ADHD Me said...

You painted a terrific picture in this post.

In today's "video game" world, I think most kids would still rather walk in play in an undeveloped area.

Great post!

My ADHD Me said...

I think we were visiting each others posts at the same time : )

kreed said...

I remember many days of hanging out in the undeveloped sections of my neighborhood when I was little. The part that makes me sad, though, is that I could go with just my friends (no adults) and I would never let my daughtr do that. Kind of takes away from that carefree freedom of childhood...

Mrs.Naz@BecomingMe said...

I love that story...it can be the simple things. Love it..and love you, too!

Mrs.Naz@BecomingMe said...

OK---You Are UP

happyhome said...

It's often about giving up what I might want to do with the time and doing things like you did...it's always worth it in the end! Praying for your trip!

Amanda said...

I have experienced something similar to this, but failed to see the God-ism in it. Well done!

Just yet another example of how I should be looking to Him in EVERYTHING.

Many blessings-
Amanda

Unknown said...

Lovely post - very encouraging as always.

Have not been here in a while - sorry for being a stranger.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

Belated St Patrick's Day from Ireland.