As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.



Thursday, September 18, 2014

"The Last Time"


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A sweet friend shared this poem on her Facebook page this morning. As I read it, I wiped away tears, realizing that most of my "last times" have already come and gone. There are times when I, like the writer of this poem, yearn for one more day of such tender moments.

Even so, I say that from a place of peace. The baby season of my life has ended, as has the toddler season, as has the young child season. I am now in the teenager season for the fourth and final time. May I make the most of these days as well.

Young mother, you, too, will arrive at "the end" before you know it, and if you have taken time, if you have lingered, if you have invested, if you have noticed the moments, if you have been there...all there...with His help...then you, too, will look back from a place of peace.

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12 comments:

  1. Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage BlogSeptember 18, 2014 at 9:25 AM

    I just told Nate this week that sometimes I long to hold him like I used to when he was little and liked to snuggle on my lap after he woke from his afternoon nap! I was missing that this week for some reason!

    Grateful to have Kyle and Kamryn still young enough to enjoy these things with, though Kyle is nearly past this stage!

    I have always enjoyed each season with my kids and I too have mostly older or grown children now. It's a different season but a good one too.

    I just need more grand babies!

    Deanna

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2014 at 9:41 AM

    I can truly relate to this. My granddaughter is 7 and I already miss the times when she was "little" and we had such happy times playing together and her joy in simple little things. You don't realize that it's the "last time" in all of life. Enjoy each moment while you have it. Blessings, Sharon D.

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  3. Debby RaySeptember 18, 2014 at 10:19 AM

    What a truly beautiful poem. Those were precious days. Something about the poem reminds me of that sweet book "I'll Love You Forever"...where the child and the parent change roles... and the child is then holding the parent :)

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  4. VeeSeptember 18, 2014 at 11:15 AM

    Oh my. Tears rolling here, too. Both children and grands have grown beyond these things. This reminds me of something my friend told me about hugging our children forever...not because they like it, but because they need it. I never walked into or out of my mother's home without a hug. I gotta get a tissue...

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  5. ellen b.September 18, 2014 at 12:07 PM

    Emotional but good encouragement for being in the moment and trusting God with today and the future. I'm going to keep hugging like Vee...

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  6. The Joy of Home with Martha EllenSeptember 18, 2014 at 1:42 PM

    I just reached for a tissue--beautiful poem, Cheryl. Sometimes as a young mother I tended to wish for easier days. Now as a grandmother I wonder how those days went so quickly. ♥

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  7. podsoSeptember 18, 2014 at 2:26 PM

    Thanks for sharing, Cheryl, and you express your thoughts well. Sometimes when we were exhausted and in the thick of it it was tempting to wish for more freedom or time to our self and suddenly that time arrives and you long for what you had. Contentment in each stage of life allows for no regrets. And now this is happening with my grandchildren, as one of your commenters said. So quickly they are growing and moving to new stages.

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  8. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2014 at 2:59 PM

    This is beautiful! I try to tell young mom that all the time---that the years are fleeting and that all too soon they'll have all the "me" time they want.

    I just wrote this week about finding contentment in my new season of life.

    Blessings,
    Patti

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  9. Tim, Allyson, and kidsSeptember 18, 2014 at 4:47 PM

    Thanks for the reminder and encouragement to live this season well!

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  10. Cranberry MorningSeptember 18, 2014 at 9:41 PM

    Talk about a tear jerker, Cheryl!! And yet our relationship with them doesn't end, thank God, it just changes. Those are precious years, now a wonderful memory.

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  11. susie @ persimmon moon cottageSeptember 19, 2014 at 7:00 PM

    Thank you for posting this. I am wiping tears from my eyes as I type. This should be required reading for every new (and even not so new) mom. When we are in the midst of raising our kids, it's easy to let those this-was- the-last-time things pass by without notice.

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  12. Lucy@heart and hearthSeptember 20, 2014 at 10:19 AM

    Dear Cheryl, full out tears for me :)
    So true...some last times have vanished away for me too...(that bath line really reminded me of washing my kids hair and how sore my back used to be and now oh I almost wish I could do that again!)
    I went through a grief a few weeks ago,for stages that are over..then suddenly I was okay.
    thank you for reminding me to cherish the moments I have left.

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