Coming to Terms

Yesterday we gave away our baby things. The whole bit: crib, bassinet, swing, car seat, stroller, comforter, etc. We gave away the things but not the memories.

That is what I remind myself. I was surprised that it was hard to give the things away. After leaving my country and leaving things behind, I have never been attached to things. But parting with these baby articles was harder than I thought.

I don't think is the things. It is coming to terms with where we are in life. We are not the young ones, starting out our families. We are not the ones expecting joyfully and anxiously for the arrival of that little baby. No. We are the ones that been there and done that. We are the ones looking back and remembering. We are the ones in the middle of this journey we call life, trying hard to raised those kids we joyfully and anxiously expected. We are the ones in the trenches.

It is coming to terms with our kids growing up and we growing older. They are not the babies they once were and we are not the young couple we once were. It is like being in the middle of a trip and looking back to where you came from. But it is also looking ahead and seeing the part that you haven't yet trudged. It is trying hard not to be afraid at what is still ahead of us. It is holding tight to the promises of Jesus that he will always be with those who love them. It is coming to terms with what we haven't accomplished and being thankful for what we have achieved. It is, I tell myself, not about regrets. It is about embracing what there is to come. Joyfully, confidently, unafraid, expectantly waiting for the marvels God is going to do with what we have offered him: our lives and the lives of our children.