Summer Reflections

I am in Georgia with friends. We are reminiscing about our kids, their childhood, high school days, and college..all of a sudden one of us(not me) has a daughter getting married. I wonder, how is it possible that one of my closest friends who is close to my age has a child getting married! It seems trite to say, "where has the time gone," trite but true! When you have a 20 year old and a 4 year old you can see the vast difference in parenting different ages at different stages..there are so many feelings, struggles, and especially prayers but these are dramatically different with a 4 year old and a 20 year old. With my 4 year old, I pray, "God keep him safe today, and give me energy to make it to bed time." With a 20 year old you pray, "please, God, don't let their heart get broken, protect them on the road, help their faith stay strong in all the temptations they face..and on and on.. I love having a 20 year old, you can share things that you can't with a 4 year old, but those 4 year old feet run to you when you come home, or they are hurt, scared, or just because they love you so much, whereas the 20 year old..well it is different, she still needs me but she also has her own life now, with her own way to cope, her feet come home but in her own time and in her own way. My prayer? "God, give me the grace to meet each stage with unconditional love, and help me understand my place in that stage." Today, I feel thankful for all of it, the struggles, the joy, and yes little feet!