1/4 gone or 1/4 of the way there?

Well, it's March!!

Can you believe that 2011 is 1/4 of the way gone?!! Time is flying!

Sometimes I think we focus so much on the business or stress of the tasks at hand (what is right in front of us), that we don't realize that time and its beauty and opportunities are slipping through our fingers.

My Dad wrote Bart a letter once thanking him for being the wonderful man that God picked for me to marry. He told Bart about how he'd been praying for Bart all of my life, and that he saw God's faithfulness and love in the fact that those prayers were answered...that I'm loved and taken care of. I love that letter, and one of the things that struck me about it was when he said that raising his children had been like a cross country train trip...he said he got so caught up in the speed and the scenery that he didn't realize the train was pulling into the station, until it had. That imagery has always really touched me. It was a beautiful trip, Daddy.

As I contemplate it now, it makes me want to somehow cherish these moments while my children are small more than I'm capable of cherishing them. These "hurry, hurry" days seem unending now, but I know they're not. I want to be conscious of what I am teaching them, and of the childhood that I'm "tucking inside their coat pockets."

I resolve to worship with my kids every day if I can...to dance around the house with them, to play more games, more puzzles, read more stories, etc. I want them to KNOW their worth.

So...as far as my own train ride goes for this year, are we 1/4 gone or 1/4 of the way there? Something to keep in mind...and the scenery is lovely.

"But from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord's love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children's children." ~Psalm 103:17