Flap Your Wings
Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him. Psalm 127:3
“Flap your wings!” She commands of me, she in her pink leopard pajamas in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. This is how we spend our sabbath. Her deep blue eyes glittering, blue marbles lined with such thick, dark lashes- and that grin, little pearls of baby teeth set straight in and spaced just so.
She is gorgeous, pure and simple.
She is tucking us in now she and I, two butterflies cocooned in her pink “lovey”. I feel the warmth of her, this hot little wiggler pressed into my lap. She breaths a long sigh and I smell her head and breathe deep myself-
I’m thinking already how she won’t sit here long enough.
These bustling days of motherhood blur in pink and blue streaks for me. It seems we never stop. We are never still long enough-
She snaps the elastic bracelet on my wrist and I don’t notice the sting of it. I’m too busy imagining her at eighteen, with her ridiculously beautiful eyes and sweet face.
How on earth will I ever let her out of this house?
In the rush of days I forget to savor the moments. I forget to slow, to breathe her in, every spare second, because eventually, she will go, they all will- my four, and how will I face that moment? With regrets for time spent not noticing how utterly amazing they are?
Oh Lord I pray not.
Amid the suffocating piles of laundry and endless clean-up and meal prep and schooling, I often forget what it feels like to “flap my wings”- buried in the work, I forget to play.
And already she is unwrapping us, and this moment is already taking flight, how quickly it transforms from moment to memory-
With a jolt she flings herself from my lap and turns and smirks at me, her mischievous little eyebrows arched with mystery. And just like that she’s off, flapping all around the room and I only hesitate for a moment before I join her. We spread our arms and flap without restraint.
This is a moment to move, to be moved by her, this moment is for playing.
I am moved by this childhood grace that lasts not long enough.
Do you find it difficult to slow down and play?
Comments
This seems to be a theme going around right now, and something I am struggling with as well! I want to be a Fun Mom, available for the kids, remembering how to get down, dirty and have fun! Thanks for this gentle reminder again :0)
Lauren, I am perpetually learning to do this. I am far too easily swept up into a “work mode”. I felt the weight of this last evening as my children were all clamoring for my undivided attention. I realized I had been putting them off repeatedly so I could finish the laundry or clean up the basement, or make dinner. It hit me that I have to stop telling them “not right now” and play with them right now. This time with them is so brief. I will never run out of work. Praying for you, sweet friend!!
This resonates so deeply in my own heart, friend! Yes I too have to remind myself to savor the moments. Savor the pretend with princesses and Veggie Tales. Savor the snuggles for they will all come to end before we know it! Thank you for this reminder to flap my wings today
Love you!
Thank you, Christina. You are such a sweet encourager. So thankful for you! XO
Oh yes, savor the moments of childhood because they are so fleeting. Turn around twice and they are grown and walking out the door.
Yes! Why do we forget this?
Yes, it’s true…childhood flies! Time to play, I need to remember this. Thank you for encouraging words today.
Thank you, Daniele.
Mine are too big for play anymore, but not interaction. I realized that I need to recognize and enjoy the moment of the everyday and ordinary. Sometimes we only look to special occasions to remember, when there is special in everyday if we dare to look.
Oh yes, there IS special in every day!! Thank you for that reminder, even once they are too big to play.
Sweet friend, this is so perfect for today, when my littles are sick and clamoring for attention. In the midst of every day it seems the hours drag by, yet when I step back I wonder in amazement where the time went. Thank you for the beautiful reminder, Kris. You are a blessing!
Thank you Jana. We are in the same boat. So much sickness and so many pulls on me for attention, for play time. I am grateful for you and your beautiful heart!!
Yes! I wish that I could tell you that this gets better as they get older, but it does not! My 17 year old wanted to talk to me about eating healthy this morning and I had more than twenty blogs to read and comment on from my new blog hop, Painting Prose. I felt like saying, “I have too much to do to have a conversation right now…and then I remembered that she’d be away at college in just a few short months, and how much I’d miss her…(sigh) when will I learn?
Oh thank you for saying this, KD. I have been that place, in fact I am there daily. I am trying to make the right choice every time, which is always and ever, my family. Bless you, sweet friend!!
We love to play here… I think I love it as much as they do, but it’s easy to get caught up… Thanks for this today, Kris. Happy fluttering!
Thanks Annie. I wish I could say that I loved to play. Some days I do. But I will be honest and say that I find it a challenge some days. bless you my friend!
Sweet Krissie, First of all, your daughter is absolutely gorgeous. Yes, of course you melt into those eyes! Oh, how my children captivate me, when I slow. How I am filled with gratitude for His blessings — the blessings of them in my life — when I see them with His eyes, when I remember that anything of this world to do is not more important than relationships. And I forget this all the time. But not today, Father. Let me see through Your eyes, today. Thank you so much for this blessing, Krissie.
Oh bless you, Jennifer. I pray her heart grows to be a beautiful reflection of her heavenly Fatherand you know, I have moments where I look at my children and suddenly, it’s as if I am seeing them for the first time. I see their graces and inner beauty in a way that I too often miss in the day-to-day. In these moments I just believe that God is giving me just a glimpse of how He must see them… What a gift they are. Bless you, my friend.
Oh, that picture. I am pretty sure that’s what angels look like.
So, yes! I find it very hard to slow down and play. In my busy days, play seems like something tha can be cut. I can’t think that way. They need play, and so do I.
That is probably one of my favorite photos of her, ever. That image of her just captivates me. And yes! I always think that stopping to play can go by the wayside. I never think that I have time to play. But weather I have time or not, time must be carved out for this, it is in playing with my children, that I can nourish their hungry hearts, and I MUSt keep that always in my mind. So glad you stopped by, Amy!
I so often get caught up in things to be done…it’s hard for me to ignore the messes and truly embrace the playing without the nagging feeling that I need to “get something done”. Thanks for this gentle reminder of what really is important. When I actually do take the time to give the littles my undivided attention and love on them, I sense the calm in their spirits…even if they aren’t quite “calm” outwardly
Thanks for this, it blessed me today!
I know exactly what you are saying, Ashlie, I sense that in my children too, when I make time to really look at them, to really interract and play, even when they are climbing me like a mountain, I know that their hearts are filling up and really, I need it as much as they do, I just tend to cheat myself out of it as well. Thank you, girlfriend, you bless me so much!
oh yes i do! Thanks for the reminder! <3 Traci
Dear Kris,
I just read this Psalm this morning, and now I read your post; perhaps the Lord is trying to tell me something… With my four young ones, I do sometimes find it difficult to just “stop” and play with them or read to them or giggle with them or listen attentively to them – and I am trying to become better at that, for the time is going so quickly. Wasn’t it yesterday that I brought my seven-year old son, he for whom this Psalm heralded his arrival on his birth announcement, home from the hospital for the first time on Easter Sunday? Or that I watched my six-year old daughter take her tentative first steps? Or that I saw my twin 4 year old boys on the ultrasound when they were tiny, tiny, tiny? But at night, when I hear my oldest whisper to me, “He looks like an angel” about his sleeping brother, I know I am cultivating love, which is most important. And when one of them crawls into my bed and gives me snuggles, I cherish the moment. I pray that the Lord helps me to appreciate the wondrous gifts with which He has entrusted me each and every moment, starting now.
Blessings,
Erin
Erin,
How hear your heart for your babies in this comment. What a beautiful Mom to your children you are. Learning to slow is a constant lesson for me. They are a gift and when I race past them, I miss the best gift God has given me. Oh how I do not want to do that!! God bless you, Erin, and your sweet children. You are cultivating love, and that is awesome. I also love to see my children acknowledge the joy and beauty of each other… sweet moments to treasure.
This made my heart sing today! What a beautiful picture of your sweet little girl! Nothing like looking deep into their eyes and knowing that they are happy we have noticed them in that moment… priceless. Much needed reminder.. right in the middle of the busy week too! Thank you!
September,
Thank you, kind friend. This is so much a reminder to myself today. Praying for you, and your family. You amaze and inspire!!
Oh, she is so beautiful! And I love her admonition to you to “flap your wings.” Out of the mouths of babes, right? Bless you as you seek to follow that advice and fly your way through her joy-filled childhood, despite the things that would seek to weigh you down.
When my boys were tiny my grandmother gave me something with this poem inscribed on it–you’ve probably seen it, but it bears repeating!
Cleaning and scrubbing can wait ’til tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we’ve learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs; dust, go to sleep–
I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.
Bless you and yours today!
Richella, oh yes, I know that poem. And yes again, my children teach me so much about life. It seems we are all learning together as we move through our days. Tank you for your encouragement, sweet friend!
Always! The every day life makes me forget about playing. You know, my dad was diagnosed with cancer two weeks ago and since then we suddenly find ourselves making time, being intentional, about laughing and playing. This has been both a shock to us but in many ways a blessing (if it makes sense) because we are now focused in what is important, and playing is one of those things. Nothing like something like this to put everything into perspective.
Maria. I am praying for your Dad, and your family. What a thing to happen to clear out eyes and hearts and give perspective. Praying that God walks you all through this. God bless you, Maria.
Yes, I do find it difficult. I am always fearful that I will not take long enough to savor these moments. I have a hard time leaving the dishes in the sink, leaving the email unanswered, leaving the project undone… there is always something that need to be done. I find myself living life like it is an emergency rather than a gift. Thank you for this reminder! I need it every day!
Jenny, I too whip around as if my hair is on fire. I honestly don’t know why it is so hard for me to slow down, but I am constantly having to remind myself to breath this in. Life is not an emergency. God bless you, sister-friend.
What a great call (and reminder) to live in the moment, Kris. Our children are SO good at keeping us in the moment, aren’t they? What a gift!
Hi Caroline! So nice to see you over here. these children we have are indeed such beautiful blessings.
Such a sweet story Kris! Thank you for the reminder today that these days are short and will be gone before we know it. We all need to slow down to play!
Blessings my friend!
Amen, Juanita!