Do you remember the old song by Willie Nelson called “Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys?” In it the song says over and over why they shouldn’t let their babies grow up to be a cowboy. It gives lots of reasons why the cowboy life isn’t a good one and tells mamas to let them be “doctors and lawyers and such”.
What I’ve always wanted to scream is mama, don’t let your babies grow up…and then reality hit me, and I realized that no matter what you do they are gonna grow up. So, instead of kicking and screaming along the way I thought about what would I love to tell a young mama if she were sitting with me right now. It wouldn’t be don’t let them grow up…but rather it would be don’t rush your babies growing up.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV it says,
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Sweet mama, as much as we may want our kids to hurry up and…
- walk
- talk
- ride their bike
- clean up after themselves
- dare I say it…drive (insert gasp here!).
They will. One day. Trust me on this, it is going to happen either way. When we rush them or “wish” them on to the next stage, we can lose sight of the present stage they are in. You know, where they still want to cuddle, need to be tucked in at night, or a kiss from mom makes things “all better”.
Oh, my mama friend…this time will go by quickly. I know it might not feel like it when you are in the thick of parenting preschoolers, but it will. Before you know it your “babies” will be driving, going to college and even getting married–then you will sit and fondly remember all the days you were covered in macaroni and cheese, red kool-aid and some unidentified sticky substance that you still don’t know exactly what it was.
The days will go on. Your sweet babies will grow up, and you might end up on the other side wishing it would have gone just a little teeny tiny bit slower.
So, today, when you’re chasing a toddler around Target and carrying a baby on your back and trying to get a few groceries for dinner just remember this small piece of my heart, from a mom who’s been there, done that too…mama don’t rush your babies growing up.
Enjoy every single day.
Savor the simplicity.
Soak up the sloppy messy kisses.
Make lots of memories.
Thank God for the season you are in,
because this too shall pass.
Bunches of hugs to you,
Melissa
Are you rushing your kids to grow up? Or are you enjoying each and every moment?
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