The Fastest Decade Ever
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2008
Tonight I am wearing a nightgown that is 10 years old. I can’t believe that I still have it. By all rights the thing should be falling apart at the seams. It does look a little shabby, but I’m still wearing it. Why? Because my daughter wanted me to. Today is her 10th birthday, and I decided that as much as possible, I would do what she asked me to do today.
This all started a couple of weeks ago. I was looking through my pajama drawer one night, and as I dug through to find a specific pair that I wanted, I came across this nightgown. My daughter was in the room with me at the time, and I showed it to her. “This is the nightgown I wore the day you were born”, I said. She looked at me with eyes as big as saucers, and said, “You still have it?”. Which got me thinking. I wasn’t even sure why I did still have this thing. I don’t even wear it anymore, to be honest. But for some reason in all these years I never did get rid of it. I also still have the nightgown that I wore when my son, Josh, was born. I guess maybe because every time I looked at those nightgowns, it made me think of the day Megan was born and the day that Josh was born. So I just couldn’t part with either one of them. Today, I have never been so thankful that I kept something!
The funny thing is, tonight, Megan was so tired that she was already almost asleep. I hadn’t put on my pj’s yet, so I started to think that maybe it didn’t really matter after all if I wore it. Then I realized that if I didn’t wear it, she would see that in the morning, and she would be disappointed. It’s because I want her to know that she is so important to me that I will wear a 10 year old nightgown even when she doesn’t know that I actually am wearing it.
So many memories are bombarding me as I write this. I remember everything from being checked into the hospital, to playing Uno while my contractions still weren’t that bad, to being ever so grateful to my aunt and cousin for sneaking in Tootsie Pops for me ( I was so hungry I could have eaten the whole bag). And then, right around midnight, my contractions took a serious turn for the serious!!!! They meant business, let me tell you! But, ah, that sweet melody of her cry just a short 7 hours and 46 minutes later made it all worthwhile. I would not take back one day of getting nauseated, or one achy back, or even a single labor pain, because the bottom line is she was, and is so very worth it!!!! James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”. Indeed this beautiful baby was a gift from God!! Her brother was, just as equally, a gift from God.
And now, just like that, 10 years has come and gone. And I really can’t believe as I look at Megan now, that all those years can pass by in such a blur! I can see images in my mind of her at different ages and different stages, and my heart aches that those moments will never come again. (I’m actually crying as I’m writing this, as those of you who know me best will not be surprised to find out.) But as much as I wish that I could have those days back, I still look forward to all that is to come in the next decade of this precious girl’s life. And I look forward to the same for her little brother. For that time and for the rest of both of their lives, these verses come to mind: Colossians 1:9-14 says, “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” That is my deepest desire for their lives. To know that no matter how bumpy the road ahead may be, they have a Father in heaven who loves them enough to want to spend eternity with them. And who walks with them every moment of every day that they spend on this earth.
As for me, I will savor every moment that I have with them. Because before I know it, another decade will have flown by, and I won’t have my beautiful little ones anymore. But in their place will be a beautiful young woman and young man that I hope will be one of my closest friends! And who knows, maybe 10 years from now I will still have these silly nightgowns, and if they haven't been worn out to the point of being unwearable, maybe I will put them on once more, and remember the days that God blessed me with such a wondrous gift!
POSTED BY KRISTIN AT 10:03 P