Living Their Best Life

Life with small children is never boring- especially when you are convinced you might have the most mischievous two-year-old on the planet.   Summer days allow for lots of adventures around here, some that are a blast, others I regret allowing from time to time.  I tend to be somewhat of an “old school” mom- I don’t allow a lot of screen time/TV time and instead we are outside quite a bit. 

 

Over the last five years of parenting I have REALLY tried to embrace the dirt and messes that come with adventure.  Sometimes that is REALLY hard for me.  I would like for my house to be clean, instead it is usually a total disaster area.  I would like for my body to stop aching, but that isn’t going to happen while I am hauling the kids around.  I like order and organization and peace, and there is VERY little of that in our life right now.  But in the last few weeks, I have tried SO hard to let go of some of that control and embrace letting them “live their best lives” as kids.  And here is what I have observed… mud puddle playing until every inch of (b) was soaked and his pants were falling down.  Hair spray paint that doesn’t wash out on the first try.  Screams of joy as they ran through the sprinkler.  Smiles and giggles from floor play with (lk).  Gator rides, scooter whizzing, and roping practice.  Huge imaginations creating situations that have to be solved.  Animals being fed and cared for and loved on.  Hilarious conversations I never want to forget and 5,793 questions per day.   Amazement as crop duster planes fly close overhead, and a million sticky summer snacks of popsicles and drinks being consumed.  

 

Do I always handle these adventures and escapades well? NOPE! Don’t ask my boys about my reaction to the bottle of sunscreen entirely squeezed out on my bedroom carpet, or the tub water all over the floor that is leaking through and ruining the ceiling tiles in our basement.  But I’m discovering when I let go of a lot of my control, I get to experience a lot of wonder and creativity, fun and giggles, learning and responsibility developing. 

 

It makes me wonder what else I would observe if I could learn to let go of some of my control in other areas of my life.  Could I experience relationships more fully if I let my guard down? Could I find more joy in some areas if I could relinquish my need for perfection?  Would I notice more little things if I wasn’t so focused on the “to do” list and schedule?  While I have no plans on giving up hard work or striving to do my best at all things I do- there are levels of control that I could definitely learn to release. 

 

As my Sunday School class discussed this issue last week, I found myself admitting that I often fail to submit to God’s plan because I battle such tendency to want to be in control of my life and situations.  Sometimes this has led to hard lessons or outcomes that could have gone much differently or less stressfully.  Learning to let go of my control over dirt and messes and order is allow my kids to “live their best life”.  And I have a feeling that remembering to let go of my control and handing it over to God would often allow me to live my “best life” too. 

 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10