"WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY?"

My husband and I were in town over the weekend and I saw a mom trying to deal with her two small children who obviously did not want to be riding around in a shopping cart in T.J. Maxx on a Sunday afternoon!! I made this statement to him (one that I have made many times before {usually to myself}, especially when I see the manner in which some mothers deal with their children out in public): "I wish I could do it all over again. I wish they were little again." And then he asked, "What would you do differently?"  My answer: ENJOY THEM MORE!!!!

I want to run up to these mothers and plead with them, "There are no second chances. They have only one childhood and you have only one time to get it right.  Don't mess it up!!!"  I don't of course, but I have been tempted more times than I care to mention.

On this journey, I never know what memories, emotions, or thoughts, I may face from day to day. Today for some reason I have shed tears filled with longings.

I miss her! She declined my invitation to meet us for church and lunch yesterday.

When things are not the way they should be between my daughter and myself I want to fix it. But I want to go back and fix the root of it. Satan begins to unveil ALL the mistakes I made as a mother. I know better than to listen, but sometimes the thoughts are too loud to drown out and the hurt is too deep to go away.

Please don't get me wrong. I was not a terrible mom! But, I also know I made mistakes along the way. I could make a list of them for you, but I will spare you.  Besides, it would not benefit me or her or anyone else whatsoever.  I truly believe this is not from God.

He does NOT want me to dwell on the "what ifs" or regrets; nor does He want me "stuck" in the past.  But rather, He would have me "moving" ahead, not repeating the same mistakes, but learning from them. And this is what I strive to do most of the time, honestly I do.  But on occasion "guilt" comes a-knocking and I foolishly let it in.

God, please clear my thoughts.  I do not want them given over to anything that would harm me.  The hours and minutes of THIS day are ticking away.  I want to enjoy them more!!  Help me to listen to my heart, the place where You dwell and He does not.  Help me to be better today than I was yesterday and to not make the same mistakes that I made yesterday.  Help me tomorrow that I will not regret today.

Help me to trust you even when I cannot reach out to her.  Capture her attention.  Please, God, give her a gift today.  Allow her to become overwhelmed with how much her mother loves her.  I do not know how you will accomplish this; I just know you can.

God, my past is just what it is: my past.  Help me to not be sad over it.  Help me to be glad in what I can accomplish, through you, in the days ahead of me. Help me as I strive to ENJOY THEM (my husband, son,  daughter, mom, dad, brother, other family members, friends, job, house, talents, abilities, and every other aspect of my life) MORE.

Amen