Thank you Moms and Dads

For the last week my husband and I have been taking care of a family of seven children while their parents have been out of town on family business.  To say that this experience has been a challenge is an understatement.  It is not because the children require so much attention that makes it a challenge.  It is a challenge because it has required me to put my own desires aside and to give all my time to them.

This week has shown me how hard it is for me to be selfless. Every day makes clear how selfish I can be especially with my personal space and my personal time. Every day I have to choose to put aside the book I want to read or the quiet time I want to have, and instead tend to the business of refereeing young boys who are trying to outdo one another.

Instead of sitting down with a cup of coffee and my laptop, I must choose to wash more laundry each day than I normally do in two weeks.  And instead doing some sewing, I must choose to cipher math problems I haven’t thought about in years.

This week has given me a fresh appreciativeness for the sacrifice good parents make for their children. The seemingly day in day out, round and round the gerbil wheel, mundane, never ending season of parenting is so hard but it is so worth it and I am so thankful for parents who understand that.

So to you Moms and Dads thank you for mustering up the patience to go over phonic lessons countless times and for reading the same old story books to them over and over again.  Thank you Moms and Dads for picking up your children from after school functions and for listening to them vent over the school day’s problems. 

Thank you for ordering them countless times, all day long to pick up their boots, coats, and toys.  Thank you for teaching them how to take care of their pets and how to be responsible with their money.

Thank you Moms and Dads for bringing them to church and teaching them to pray.  Thank you for giving them Jesus and, most of all, thank you for giving your children life.