Tonight as I helped give my six year old daughter a bath I realized that such days, such moments, are dwindling. As she peered out at me between two mountains of soap suds, smiling and laughing amidst all those tiny bubbles, I had one of those moments of vivid clarity, as if I were a camera and God was taking a picture of this precious little angel, His creation, through my eyes. So I sat with her and we chatted about her day and mine and I watched with sweet joy as she spoke with her tiny mouth, her top teeth missing now, my own little Dracula.
Time waits for no one, they say. I cannot argue. It seems like only a few days ago that it was my son in that tub, playing with his Teen Titans figurines. He's twelve now. As he sits on the cusp of those formative years between playing the tough guy and becoming a man I cannot help but wonder at how far he has come in his young life. He loves to debate his ideas with me now; his eyes filled with the thoughts he's formulating, his hands moving expressively to draw them out and present them to the world. In his belief's he's a stubborn boy and I love him all the more for it.
I've been reading lately of time and memory, faith and profound appreciation for the lives we have been given. They are fleeting things, all of them. We all know this and yet, still, we live our lives by the hour hand, not the seconds. But there's not a bath bubble in the world that last for hours and baby teeth are only lost once. We do not get them back when they are gone and, rest assured, we will miss them all the more if we don't appreciate them while they are happening.
So take a deep breath. Notice the moments that God gives you. Then focus.
No comments:
Post a Comment