Love's Rewards

Today is Sunday, the Day of the Lord in my Christian faith.  More than ever, now that I'm retired, I strive to "keep Holy" the Lord's Day.  Besides going to church, I can rest, recharge, and think 'churchy' thoughts.

My mind wandered to the Sundays when my children were young, not even in high school yet.  We never missed going to church, praise God!  I tried to make Sundays special by having a better than average meal, and by using a tablecloth and napkins at the main meal.

And we always had centerpieces on the table.  Each child old enough to understand the gospel reading, took a turn, a Sunday at a time, depicting the message by using Barbie dolls and all the small props they desired.

Picture the center of the table on the Sunday Jesus called Peter, James, and John to be "fishers of men."  There was a toy boat in the middle with a boy Barbie (Ken) in it. He was Jesus. Outside were three other boy Barbies.  Odd toy fish were around the boat.  And after we all said the prayer of thanksgiving (you know, "Bless us, O Lord. . .), the child in charge would tell the story of how Jesus called his first disciples as we passed around the bowls of food.  Every one of them always relished being the center of attention!

The girls particularly enjoyed the Sunday about Jesus' first miracle at the Wedding at Cana.  Then they could bring out Barbie in her bride's outfit, Ken as a fancy groom, and other Barbies as bridesmaids.  Jesus, of course, changed the water into wine. I didn't think they'd understand that 2,000 years ago, Jewish brides didn't look a bit like their Barbies.  But we had FUN!

This blog, "If Only I Had Known" is aimed towards finding out how to avoid disastrous relationships between folks of all ages.  But also, we want to teach the young ones the rewards of good relationships, the Rewards of Love.  Whether you are blessed with one or several or many children, they are the life-long rewards of love.  There is no achievement, award, or amount of money that can come close to equaling the joy of raising children!

Being a parent is co-creating with God.  To be sure, parenthood demands your ALL!  But to see the little ones learn and grow is wonderful.  I'm not saying I've raised perfect children, in any way.  They've all made mistakes, just like I did.  But overall, I know they're doing the best they can, as I feel I did the very best I could to be their mom. 

What if children are not a part of your life?  Every woman has a certain amount of 'mothering' in her, and every man has 'fathering' qualities.  These can be spent on your job, volunteering, or with your other relatives.

Remember: No matter what, God loves us and wants us to be happy!