1.This Saturday we are having a graduation party for my 23 year old daughter, Christine.
It has been a very challenging time for us and a time where my faith is being tested. She is not little anymore. I can't always be there to rescue her from well intentioned decisions. I have to entrust her to God and His mercy in so many ways.
2.When our daughter, Christine was four years old she nearly drowned in our swimming pool. In her innocence, she really believed that just because she had watched others swim and it looked easy, that she could too. She knew the right thing to do: i.e. move her arms and kick her feet - and so in her eyes, it would follow that all she needed to do was jump in and she would be able to swim. Her dad and I had just climbed out of the pool and she was standing at the top of the ladder taking off her life jacket, the way she usually did, before exiting by descending down the pool ladder. Suddenly, instead of coming down the ladder Christine decided to jump and dive into the center of the pool. Despite the fact that her intentions and efforts were good she promptly sank to the bottom.
She was working so hard to stay afloat. My mind was racing. " if only she knew she could take on a posture of surrender so as to be carried and lifted up by the water and receive the breather that she needed. If only she knew how to be still and to float."
Thankfully, Her Father was near, dove in quickly and rescued her.
3.When I took the time to reflect on this difficult moment in my life I saw God showing me a reflection of myself and His saving love for me and my children.
There have been many times in my parenting when I have tried to apply what I learned to be the “right” thing to do but instead of swimming in the sea of parenting I quickly found myself sinking to the bottom. I have learned that like swimming, good parenting isn’t simply about knowing the right things to do. It takes practice. It takes an attitude of humility and surrender. I am reminded that to stay afloat I need to maintain a spiritual posture of surrender. I need to open my heart to God's will for my children and the power of His Holy Spirit to save them. Sometimes as a mom, I think " it is all up to me" to make things right but I am not alone. I have a father in heaven who loves me.
Scripture teaches us that as we give Him our surrender, it is His power that lifts us up.
My daughter made a mistake that nearly cost her, her life and her father rescued her. Now that my daughter is older it is hard to think about how we cant always be there to rescue her from making the wrong decisions but it is a wonderful grace to know that ,we can trust in God the Father to be near her and we can trust in his promises to save her when her earthly father can't.
What else could I glean from this?
When I make my mistakes in parenting my kids, I know that I can always trust in the nearness of our Heavenly Father, who desires to lift us up out of the depths of our sin and weakness. I can remind myself that in His goodness, God forgives us our sins and will provide for us all the graces we need to answer this call to the vocation of motherhood....
JDandrow
Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Here is the link to Donna Marie's Blog http://catholicmomscafe.blogspot.com/2014/06/celebrate-your-mom-isms.html
