Another Secret of Time

We've been going to the pool a little more often now that it's been HOT. I've been amazed to see Miss Curie and Angelina are learning to swim after just five lessons at $2 each a year ago, and one free lesson this year. And even Chatterbox is blowing bubbles.

Do I have brilliantly talented children? No, not really. (Of course, I think they're brilliant because I'm their Mum, but if I'm being objective about it they're not overly sporty.) Have I been teaching them to swim myself? Well, not exactly.

And here we have the second Secret of Time that I'm discovering (only I guess it's not a secret now that I'm telling you). I'm sure many other experienced parents already know it well. If I'd spent bucketloads of money on swimming lessons the girls would probably be a bit better at swimming, but my time just being in the pool with them (and not a lot of time, at that) has achieved almost as much as several hundred dollars.

Now, my point is not to say that swimming lessons are a waste, and this is really not about money either. The great revelation to me has been just how much my time can teach my children. I have occasionally shown the girls how to blow bubbles or given Chatterbox a dunking, and the Raamonster has been involved with giving them rides on his back and getting them to jump to him. Beyond that, we really haven't set out to teach the girls to swim. It seems that just being there, in the water - talking, playing, and admiring their little achievements - was enough.

I don't like the term "quality time" because it usually implies that a little bit of time doing something big is what children need. I think that the evidence of many divided families shows that more time doing little things is more valuable in the long run. I will qualify that, though. In my experience, my time with the girls does'n't "count" for anything if I'm not mentally and emotionally present. Chatterbox doesn't get her "fix" from sitting on my lap while I'm surfing the net. Likewise with the Raamonster.

Well, I could blather on for ages, but my delightful little Angelina is reading a story (she's just learning to read), so I'd better practise what I'm preaching and give her some time!

A Question of Faith...

Life is a battle right now. A battle to get out of bed every morning. A battle not to get side-tracked by the menial tasks. A battle to do the things that really should be done before the things that I just really want to do.

So what does that have to do with a question of faith? Let me answer that as clearly as I can through the fog of mother-brain.

My time and energy are being sapped by trivialities because I don't have the faith to trust that God will look over the 99.999999 (OK, you get the idea)% of the universe that I have no control over and no responsibility for. I cannot change the amount of packaging that my food comes wrapped in. No really, I can't. Three young children is more of a priority than a one-woman campaign against supermarket giants and midgets alike. SOOOO I can stop stressing myself over trying to reuse every scrap of packaging. (What about your recycle bin? I hear you say. To which my answer is that I have serious doubts about how good recycling is for the environment - better to use less to start with, in my mind).

Anyway, that's just a small example. The point is, I can't compensate for all the wrong stuff that goes on in the world. I can hate it. I can work really hard to overcome my sins through the power of God's spirit. I can teach my children. I can speak the truth in love. But I can't, can't, CAN'T by the greatest stretch of my will and strength change one single thing about any other person.

So here's to being an inspiration and encouragement to others by being the best that I can be, and having the faith that God will deal with everything else ... perfectly!