Enjoying the Journey

This week I blogged about the importance of "Daddy Time" on the Families Baby blog. My inspiration came from my husband and my son playing in the next room...

My husband will be the first to tell you that playing with his little man is no small task. Thinking of silly ways to entertain our four-month-old comes much easier to me. I can move quickly from one trick to the next, while my husband struggles to keep up with Micah's 5 minute attention span. "I can't wait for him to get older" is his mantra. He wants him to be able to say what he wants instead of cry. He also wants him to be able to move around on his own. Women cringe at this sentiment, knowing how quickly babies grow into the next stage, which has its own difficulties, but I understand his frustration. I felt the same way when we were dating. (I can't wait to get married - I'm tired of driving home every night!!) There are just certain stages in life that we can't wait to finish - college, looking for a spouse, planning a wedding - and it's hard to enjoy them, even if there are plenty of things to appreciate about each stage. We begin to focus on certain goals so much that we start to resent the journey. Before we know it, our goal is achieved and a fragment of history, and what is left? Did we waste all that time waiting for the next big thing and miss out on all the fun in between?

God enjoys the journey. You can tell just by looking around at creation. He could have populated the earth with a bunch of full grown adults, but instead he created pregnancy, babies, children, and childhood. In fact nearly everything in creation starts out small and grows. There is a reason trees take decades to reach their full height. There is a reason he doesn't wave a magic wand when we begin a relationship with him and turn us into the perfect Christian. We reach full maturity in Christ when we enter the gates of heaven; until then we embark on a spiritual journey of epic proportions. He slowly molds us through life's experiences, His perfect wisdom (the Word) and the power of His Holy Spirit. I think we should take a cue from creation and savor every bite of life. Every breath is a gift from God, who is the giver of life itself. Every moment deserves our full gratitude and appreciation for everything we receive.

Whenever I'm tempted to wish any part of Micah's "babyhood" away, I try to focus on all the good aspects (he can't run away or talk back, for example) that are unique to this season. I am trying to share these with my husband as well. In the meantime, I enjoy watching Micah bore a soft spot into Eric's heart with all his cute little antics.