Bittersweet Chocolate– so not my preference for a sweet snack. Must have been invented by a man! Besides baking purposes I can’t think of a single good use for it, because if I’m going to eat fat in a candy wrapper you better believe it’s going to be sweet… maybe even filled with caramel. But I certainly can think of what it reminds me of—life sometimes. Yesterday was one of those bittersweet days for me.
Sweet because I sent three of my precious kiddos off to school. Holland, dressed in her best, strutted into 7th grade. Girl knew she was lookin’ good. Hayes, dressed in “who cares mom” clothes, eventually–thank God– wandered down to the hall marked “5th grade”. And Hudson, well, in his very favorite outfit that makes him feel like Superman (and the one he wore 100 times this summer), put on a confident smile and sat at his Kindergarten desk. Yes, I said Kindergarten. He sat next to a little boy with the biggest cheeks in the world. I wanted to take a picture of him he was so cute, but I thought his mom might think I was a little weird.
Bitter because the first days of school are always a milestone in any parent’s life. They are mile markers indicating that your child is growing up. But today, I had one less child to send to school, a precious girl named Haven who lives with Jesus. Now, being with Jesus is a far better place than being at school. I mean, the cafeteria food is awful. But still my heart felt that she should be here with me. It ached a little. It wanted to send her off in the car line with big hugs and tell her how cool she is, tell her to watch out for her little sister, knee the boys that try to flirt, and to know, just know, that she’s gonna rock the day!
But my heart knows that will never happen while on this side of eternity. So, with this dilemma, what is a person to do? What am I to do? For starters I’m going to talk to God all day and listen to the golden nuggets He gives me in return. And I’m going to continue to run my race in such a way to get the prize, to get a crown that will last forever (I Cor. 9). I’m going to remember that “Heaven is Better”, and I have a “Great Cloud of Witnesses” cheering me on and interceding for me (Hebrews 12:1). I believe, without doubt, Haven is one of those witnesses.
So, bittersweet might mean there’s some bitter that goes along with the sweet, but I won’t forget about the sweet. Today, I’m choosing to remember I’m blessed. I’m thinking about the three sweet things sitting up straight in their chairs, saying “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am,” eating their green peas at lunch, being the perfect little angels they always are. Hey– a mom can dream, can’t she?
Be blessed today and remember the sweet!
Recent Comments