Lessons Learned And Still Learning From a 3-Month Old

Hello fellow bloggers and friends. This week has given us a taste of winter with temperatures falling to the mid 20's overnight. It has made me glad that I spent the time earlier last month cutting and splitting firewood. With the chill in the air and the leaves falling from the trees, it makes me think of the reasons I like Fall: the beautiful colors, hot chocolate, fires in the fireplace and the holidays just to name a few.

The changing of the seasons tend to come around just when my attitude needs it. Just when I feel the monotony of the hot weather of summer setting in, the seasons change and my attitude is renewed. This changing of the season is also translated into my personal life.

As I reflect upon the last 11 months of my life, I see the birth of John as being a 90 degree turn for my immediate as well as extended family. I must add here before I go any further that this change has been one of the most significant positive changes in our lives although the view of this being a positive change has only occurred within the past 3 months. Seeing that this is a positive change also grows within us on a daily basis as we care for John and allow him to slow us down and to teach us that there is more than one way to live and enjoy life.

This change is unlike other changes that occur in our lives. This change is more of a surgical procedure of the heart. It has changed my perspective forever as I am sure it will continue to change more as he grows and we face challenges together. As I look back at the last 3 months with him, I see how much of life I take for granted. For example, with my other 4 children, therapy wasn't needed and they learned on their own at pretty close to the exact time they were supposed to. They sit up on their own, they ate solid food when they were supposed to, walk, ran, jumped, etc.

Now I know that his future is still to be determined but these last three months have revealed more delays than my other children which I am fine with. I know that he will achieve in his own time but it has caused me to slow down and take a deep breath. And it is this slowing down that is bringing about change in my heart and causing me to see life in a different way.

This child that the Lord has blessed our home with came with a message. And the message that I have learned up to this point has been to slow down and rethink what it is that is important in this life: relationships or personal achievement?