For
some reason, lately I’ve really been thinking about where all of my
life has gone and what I’ve chosen to do with my days. As I’m
writing this today,
I have been alive for 13,605 days, give or take a few. That thought
makes my heart kind of sink. That’s a lot of days!! What have I
done with those days? I believe that every day is a gift from God.
I truly do. But I haven’t always appreciated that fact. I think
back to my wild rebellious days and wish I could take them all back
and do something worthwhile with that time. In a certain regard, I
would not take back those days because they were a part of making me
who I am today. However, it almost sickens me to think how much time
I have wasted.
Now
I’m married and have three beautiful daughters, and I think even
more so now I realize how every day is a gift. I try to take time to
stop what I’m doing and listen to them. To hug them extra long and
take in the smell of their sweet skin and feel of their soft cheeks
on mine, because I know that all too soon, they are going to be grown
up and on their own. I want them to grow up feeling loved, safe and
taken care of. I want to do fun things as a family and make memories
that will last a lifetime. I don’t think every day has to be
memorable. I know that’s not realistic. But I want them to have
great memories of their childhood when they are my age.
So
there is one thing that I have been feeling lately has robbed our
family of these quality times. TECHNOLOGY. Xbox, tablet, phones,
handheld video games, computers, TV. We are surrounded! We have had
a really, really, really long winter. And in part because of this, I
have let my kids (and husband) be on technology way more than they
really should be. So now that it’s nice out, it’s become a
really hard habit to break. It’s almost as if we have forgotten
how to be a family. When the opportunity arises to be together and
spend time together, it’s as if we don’t know how. It’s
almost like a drug addict trying to get clean. The kids usually ask
at least once “Can we play xbox? Can we play on the computer?”
Sitting and reading a book, playing a game, writing a story, or doing
a puzzle have become foreign to them. And, quite frankly, it’s all
my fault. I have allowed them this access to technology, and they
have been sucked in.
So
my plan for the summer is to break them of their addiction to
technology. To reintroduce them to all of the fun things that
childhood has to offer, before it’s too late. Before they have
lived over 13,000 days and wonder where all of those days have gone.
I want to teach them to be aware that every
single day is a gift from God. And to teach them to live every day
to the fullest. To spend time together, as a family, with their
sisters, with their friends, with their family. To make memories,
and to follow their dreams. Because I want more for them than being
addicted to technology, and I think God does too!
Psalm
90:12 So teach us to number our days. That we may gain a heart of
wisdom.
By Lisa Powell/@mamaof3gs
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