Yesterday for the first time, Steve and I took the kids to the orchestra. We heard selections from Beethoven, Tchaikovsky's the Nutcracker, and Grieg.
Sounds idyllic, right?
And it was--but that's only half of the story.
The other half? It involved gently reminding children to:
- sit up straight
- stop picking your nose
- wait patiently
- shhhh!
- you get the point
And while listening to these incredible instruments, it struck me that the experience isn't unlike many others we have as moms and parents.
It may sound idyllic to have a Bible time, to read-aloud to your kids, or to have family dinners.
But the reality is a lot more muddied--it's interruptions all. the. time., it's the asking of ridiculous, off-topic questions while reading a chapter book, it's "He got more than me!," it's not always getting to finish a sentence with your spouse at the dinner table, it's the response of "yuck!" when you mention what's for dinner.
In short, it's pretty far from the idyllic goal we are aiming for. At times it sounds much easier to throw up our hands and forget it.
Please don't.
The world has been changed forever by people who dared to believe in an impossible ideal, and our world at home--our family--can by changed by the ideals we set forth and passionately move toward as well.
It won't happen overnight, it won't happen in one year, but it will and can happen if we persevere and refuse to give up. Keep reading to your kids, keep training those taste buds to enjoy healthy foods, keep eating together around the table.
Every day we sow seeds in the hope of a later harvest, and the fruit we reap will one day taste so sweet--knowing the effort, work, and grace that went into it.
"Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
~ Galatians 6:9
