Let me tell you about my two-year-old. He loves life. He wakes early in the morning, eager for the adventures of the day. He is inquisitive about the way things work. He transforms long-forgotten remnants of this and that into tools, and he builds wood-block cities where the good guys decimate the bad guys on an hourly basis. He has a kind, generous heart and notices everything extraordinary that adults religiously dismiss. He has a sense of wonder and whimsy for which I yearn. He exudes the very essence of life.
I love my two-year-old. But the thing is, he just turned thirteen. It happened when I blinked. As my eyes refocus on this newer version of my boy, I’m acutely aware that so much has changed. He has almost matched me in height. He is the one recommending books to me, and I learn as much from our conversations (or more) than does he. My son is closer to a man than a boy, and the rate of change is just getting kicked into high gear.
Yet when I consider the best part of that two-year-old, the truest, most human, most alive part of his soul, it is still just as present eleven years later. The best part of my son is that which is eternal. It doesn’t slip away with years, although I’ve been granted the privilege to see it grow and develop. His joy, his compassion, his curiosity for life, his kindness and his creativity. Those things remain.They were formed from a substance more foundational than atoms. They are not bound (or marred) by the passage of time. The best part of my vibrant son, of my elderly grandmother, of you, and of me, won’t vanish with the years. It can’t be ended by a milestone birthday. Or even by a funeral.
Most of us have felt the twinge of (or gut-wrenching) sadness that accompanies the milestones commemorated in our photo albums. We sigh, and with a mix of melancholy, nostalgia, sadness and yearning, we chant the parental mantra, “Time Flies.” Yet take heart.
Yes, time flies.
But I don’t want to stop it. I want to climb on its back and soak up every inch of the scenery. I want to drink in the laughter, the tears, the soccer games, the visits to the ER, the blues skies and the torrential rains that this world has to offer. For when the cosmic clock is finally grounded, I will climb off its back, grateful for the wild and wonderful (full-of-wonder) ride.
So enjoy your toddlers, your teenagers, your grandchildren. Don’t miss one bit of the ride due to fear or regret. For the day is coming when the tarnish of time will be removed from us all. And underneath will be revealed the beauty, the creativity, the wonder, the whimsy, and the perfected love that was imprinted on our souls from the very foundations of the universe.
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My son is turning 25 this week.
I so relate to this, and still am awestruck at my little boy/grown man.
Wonder-filled, too!!! thank you:-)
Beautiful, Julie! Thank you.
Don’t lose heart, though your body’s wasting away. Your soul is not; it’s being remade, day by day by day… Thank you for the precious reminder of the precious life around us. Fear needs to get lost.
http://chasinglions.blogspot.com/2007/02/tick-of-clock.html
Thank you, Julie. I find that fear and sadness about the passage of time are at the root of many things that trouble me. These good words encourage my heart. Thanks for giving me a better, truer, hope-filled vision of what it means for us eternal people in mortal bodies to travel through time.
Thank-you. I laughed and sniffled through this whole post! Really love this ‘Most of us have felt the twinge of (or gut-wrenching) sadness that
accompanies the milestones commemorated in our photo albums. We sigh,
and with a mix of melancholy, nostalgia, sadness and yearning, we chant
the parental mantra, “Time Flies.” Yet take heart.’
Yes.! My son just turned 15. He still comes in to say good-night even when he comes home at midnight and wakes me up;) I will NEVER tell him to stop. My desire is not to miss a thing in the present because I was looking back!
I am 28, don’t have children yet, by choice but also by Gods plan. I have always longed to go back to childhood to experience the wonder of the long days of enjoying every little thing. As an adult I have wondered why time flies and experiences don’t feel the same, I am now realizing that it is my choices of finding joy in the simple that makes me “child like”. I am so happy that I am learning this before I have children and it also makes me look forward to enjoying them at every age, even the “hard years”.
“I want to climb on its back and soak up every inch of the scenery.” …I love that imagery! So beautiful for us to be able to “let go” to that extent… to laugh at the days to come. Thanks for sharing this!
Oh, WOW. Yes, yes, and yes. This makes me cry. So true. Thank you! xox
Oh thank you so much for this. I am at a point where these words speak straight to my heart. God use your words to speak courage to me today!
I love you so much it breaks me into tears, love your enemy as I have loved you.
Friends, Thanks for your kind words. My children now range in age from 9-26. I still need to be reminded (to choose) to see the glimpses of eternity we’re given in the everyday. For those who don’t have children, the truth is no less relevant. Every moment is a gift. Every person reflects our Maker. We just need to keep reminding one another.
I just read this for the first time today, and man did I need it, after a milestone celebration for my only last week. Thanks Julie, for speaking hope to my mothering sadness!