The baby with the brown eyes....

A thought from Rio….

Today one of the sweet ladies from our school that cleans was showing me pictures of her 4 month old baby.  Oh, the baby was so cute!  He has big brown eyes and the cutest smile.  She showed me the pictures with the same pride that every mother has.  As I was looking at the pictures with her…tears began to form in my eyes for two reasons.

One, it hit me how fast my two baby girls have grown up!  Oh, how I want to protect them and keep them safe.  I do not want to let them go…they are making some of their own decisions now, like what clothes to wear, how to wear their hair, and who to be friends with.  As we continue to guide and direct them I continue to depend totally on God for wisdom.  I pray for His protection over His daughters.  There are so many things I want to say to both of my girls like,"Watch out for this," and "Do this," and "Don’t do that," but I have to be reminded, especially with our oldest, Kierra, that I need to allow her to start making her own decisions (which will have mistakes) with me supporting her….continuing to point her to God’s Word.  If it was up to me….she would just stay away from all mean/rude/disrespectful/ people….until she was 22, but she would never learn how to be bold and stand up for what is right and most importantly for our Lord Jesus Christ.  Kierra wouldn’t learn that others will have different opinions and beliefs, and she will have to learn to rely on Holy Spirit that lives in her and sets her apart.
Man!  I just realized how much strength I need for the next 15 years…WOW…it is tough being a parent.

Second, I was reminded how BLESSED we are…as I looked at the pics of this precious baby I realized that my friend from work has a VERY HUMBLE home.  There were a couple pictures of her bathing the baby in a bucket….the same size bucket that I use to wash my floors.  It looked as if she was bathing her precious baby outside her home in this small bucket.  The baby was full of joy and for her this was normal....  BUT for me it really HIT home!  How can I complain about some of the silliest things!?  We live in a mansion here according to some Brazilians (compared to American standards it is just a college size apartment, nothing special), yet millions here live with WAY lesson than what we do, and a small percent live like millionaires.  God is continuing to remind me to find contentment in what HE has given us, with the most important thing being the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
  

As Christmas comes may you too be content with what you have.  May you NOT conform to the world.  May you think of the less fortunate and find ways to bless them.