My own meadow of favor and blessing...

I find great joy in watching my children as they meander through our backyard. I delight in hearing them take notice of the butterflies hovering over a flower, the ants carrying leaves on their backs, or the newest patch of mushrooms growing in a friendly family of four. I love when one of them shares a new-found treasure with another little friend during Nature Study. Each time, I am reminded of a gentler time, when the world wasn't in the rush it is today. I'm reminded of a time where people enjoyed the God-created world around them for what it was, and weren't in need of today's latest technology to entertain them.
We might not live in such a time, but I believe we can be deliberate in bringing back a kinder, slower pace of life for our families. I believe if we seek God's guidance, He will bless us with a path which leads to something gentle...something rich...a life filled with wonder. I believe He eagerly awaits every opportunity to show us the magnitude of His majesty and the depths of His wonder. We need to slow down. We need to heed the lesson of Mary and Martha.
I feel so incredibly blessed to have the privilege of training my children. I am learning, day by day, that I don't need to teach them. God has provided ample amounts of tools & resources, and is kind enough to set out before me all that is needed each day to learn all of the lessons He has for us individually. I need to train myself, and then my children, to kneel before our Maker and ask Him to teach us about who He is and this life He has created for each of us. I need to train them to be still and take in all the things in this world that whisper His name and display His glory. I need to allow them the freedom to go with what is inside them. He created them so uniquely... and He alone knows what His plans include for their lives. I need not teach them; no, He made them with everything they need to be who He wants them to be and called them to do. He's brilliantly placed it inside them. It my privilege to help them discover the God-established brilliance that lies in wait. I love when, in the peak of a great moment, you overhear someone saying, "I was born for this!" with a smile stretched broadly across their face...
Yes, I pray my children will have many gentle days of discovering all God has for them to learn about Him, themselves, and their places in this world. I pray they have a life filled with moments they know, deep down, they were born for. Blessed be Your Holy Name.