Seasons Change....

The changing of seasons is nothing short of miraculous in my eyes. Although here in the northeast US we have an official "First Day of Spring" and a "First Day of Winter" on the calendar, we all know that seasons change much more gradually than that.

Cold, snowy winter days with frost on the windowpanes gradually get warmer and the snow begins to drip and melt. Trees still looking dead and bare, begin to change inside until we see buds popping out; and shoots of green grass poking through the mud left behind by months of snow give us hope of spring. One day we look around and realize that yes, spring indeed has come. Then we go a few days here and there without wearing a jacket and realize suddenly one day, that we are in the middle of a hot summer. And so goes the changing of the seasons. They are ever changing, but most changes aren't seen until they are past.

This is the way my mothering has been. When in the midst of sleepless nights with a colicky newborn, it seemed that "spring" would never come. Then, one morning I woke up to realize that I had gotten adequate rest....for a while. Of course, there was always a new stage to come like teething or baby's first sickness, then temper tantrums, crawling mishaps, a baby that likes to toddle off of high objects and potty training. However, each season fades more quickly than we realize into the next until we look at our baby and realize that he or she is no longer an infant but a child.

Lord, help me to enjoy THIS season! Help me to keep ever before me that this child is ever changing, though I may not be able to see it, tomorrow I will wake up and realize that I am alone with my husband and my children are off watching the seasons change in their own offspring.

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