Diamonds

Your children are like diamonds - hug them, kiss them, pursue their hearts today.

I saw this picture and read these words posted on facebook today by Courtney of Women Living Well.  How clearly they ring true of my hearts desire and how much I want them to be evident in my life. 

The past 5 months have been a huge transition in my life as a mother.  I am a stay at home mom with no kids at home.  For 7 years I shared every aspect of my life with my girls.  We ate together, played together, ran errands together, read together and even went to the bathroom together (when they were especially young!).  Now that they are in school, now that 2 very large parts of my heart are walking around outside of my body, I am having to relearn how to pursue their hearts, how to stay connected to them.

I regularly pray for God's guidance in how to minister to my family in the short time we spend together.  Some of the ideas I will share I've gleaned from others, some are ideas that just seemed to come from a place of gentle communication from God.  The most important thing I have found though, is that no two families will find diamonds in exactly the same way and no two children will respond to the same cookie cutter approach.   As with the whole of life, we are to be led by the Spirit.  We are to walk faithfully and communicate regularly with a God who cares about us as individuals and who loves our families even more than we do.  When I follow where He is leading I can be sure He knows where He is going.

I will post several different ideas and encouragements over the next few weeks and hope that you will be encouraged by something that you read.  If you would like to share about something that you have found helpful to keep you connected to your children I would love for you to comment.  It's wonderful to share ideas with others who desire to intentionally pursue the best for their families.

Blessings!