HOW TIME FLIES!

I remember when our first four children were little (ages 5 yrs. and under) and how older moms and grandmothers would come up to me and say, "Enjoy them when they are young, because they grow up real fast!" At that point I remember selfishly thinking, "When will they ever grow up and get their own drink of water, dress themselves, feed themselves and help out with house cleaning!" Well now as our oldest son Joshua just turned 16 on Jan. 1st I am realizing (and have realized over the past few years) that those ladies were very right, they do grow up real fast. You know..... when you come to the conclusion that the age you used to think was old isn't old anymore, because you are that age! Obviously when you have a 16 year old son, you are getting older. Now, moms younger than me come up to me and ask me for advice and I realize that I am becoming one of the older women that the Bible talks about in Titus 2. Which seems weird to me, because we still have young children as well, but we also have a 16 year old which puts us in the "older" category! So yes, time does fly. So to you young moms, cuddle them lots now, because they won't always fit on your lap! But on the flip side, I have enjoyed every stage of our childrens life and am now enjoying having 2 teenagers in our home. When everyone would tell us the horrible stories of having teenagers, we would go against all odds and say that we would enjoy our teenagers, that teenagers didn't have to rebel! But people would look at us with that "well you just wait and see" look! Well we have waited and seen and can now say with experience that "HAVING A TEENAGER IN OUR HOME IS GREAT!" Am I saying there are never any struggles. No, of course not, but I am saying, "we enjoy having teenagers in our home!" It is so neat to watch Joshua grow into a young man and grow in his faith, learn more and more responsibility. I love watching him with his four younger brothers and realize what an influence he has on them (and all his siblings)! They love to be around him. I think it is so neat the way God designed family. So all this to say, "teenage years are not something you need to dread!" If your children are trained up in the way they should go, their teenage years will be a great experience for you and them! To God be the glory!