“The more children you have, the more you need to be pastorally minded. Look to each of their souls and their needs. If you are focused on upkeep of the house and the schedule, as long as your child is not interrupting that, you don’t worry about it. If you are being a parent who is pastorally minded, you will stop whatever it is that you are doing to go see how your daughter is in her bedroom. Has she been quiet lately? Was that a faint door-slam you heard in the distance? Find out about that. Did one of your kids seem a touch off as they went outside to sit in a tree? Don’t let that go. Be a pastor to your children. Study them. Seek them out. Sacrifice the thing you were doing to work through minor emotional issues.”
“So while your children are little, cultivate an attitude of sacrifice. Sacrifice your peace for their fun, your clean kitchen floor for their help cracking eggs, your quiet moment for their long retelling of a dream that a friend of theirs allegedly had. Prioritize your children far and away above the other work you need to get done. They are the only part of your work that really matters.”
Both quotes are from Loving the Little Years, by Rachel Jankovic. Have I told you that I love, love, love this little book? Maybe it’s just the place I’m at right now, but it is really ministering to my spirit and lifting me up as a mother. I only wish I could have read it years ago when my older children were little .
When I gave birth to my fourth child I had 6, 4, 2, and a newborn. I have friends with children even closer together than this, but this was a very, very busy season for me. I did do a lot of fun things with my children like baking cut-out cookies and making playdough and lots of painting and crafts and playing together. But I think this book would have given me such encouragement in my days. It’s just really good, and I highly recommend it. It may help make the difference between really loving the little years or just tolerating them.
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P.S. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts and prayers about our air conditioning-it’s fixed! This evening the repairman came and installed the part, and it seems to work great. And it only cost us about $135. I say only $135, because the part itself was $1,000. But the repairman that my husband “just happened” to call “just happened” to be the man who installed the heat pump originally (years ago, before we moved here), and he “just happened” to remember that it was still under warranty, so we wouldn’t have to pay for the part, just his labor. Isn’t that beautiful? Something that might have cost $1,350 only cost $135. Praise the Lord–we are so thankful!
Oh, and I wanted to ask if you might pray for this precious little baby and his parents. Jared and Jalayne are a young, American, missionary couple in Haiti. Jalayne just gave birth to their first baby a few days ago (in Haiti), and a couple of days later baby Miles developed a fever and had to be taken to a hospital. I’m sure it was a very traumatic experience for all of them, and my heart especially goes out to Jalayne, a new mother in a country not her own. It must be terribly difficult. Thanks for praying!
Thanks for leaving this sweet comment, Sarah!
I really appreciated the wisdom that you shared here, Joy . . . it is things like this that I tuck away in my heart and mind to, Lord willing, be able to put into use in the future. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Grace!
We were so thankful that Mr. and Mrs. G. loaned us the window air conditioner. It was such a blessing! We took it back over to them yesterday.
Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday! 🙂
Thanks for visiting me, Karen~
It is so encouraging to hear from mothers with older children who have already been there. You are so right that it is hard to believe when we're right in the middle of it…I'm finally beginning to get a glimpse of how quickly time really does go. When I look at my twelve-year-old daughter who is so tall and mature, I realize how quickly the time has gone. It seems like only yesterday that she was a baby!
Thanks again for your encouragement to mothers everywhere, Karen!
Hi Miss Joy~
I am so glad to hear you got your air conditioner fixed. Hope all is well. See you Sunday.
Yes, although it is difficult to believe while we are in the throes of bringing up children, the years do go by before we know it. I can say this because my home schooled children are adults now.
Character and lifestyle were all the buzz during the early 1990s. Now the buzz seems to be on finding the "best" curriculum. (Perhaps this is just the publishing world I am part of.) Anyway, shepherding children spiritually is as important as you say, Joy. Thanks for doing it. Thanks for saying it.
Karen A.
Just found your blog through the Friday Blog hop! I am a homeschooling mama to 5, all under the age of 10. This was a great post!
Happy New Follower! Come visit me at http://slightlynerdysometimescool.blogspot.com/
And mothers with young children need all the encouragement they can get! =)
Thanks so much for visiting!
Brandi, thank you! We also have a heart for adoption–that is so wonderful that you're wanting to adopt. So many little ones in need of a loving family.
Hope your week is blessed!
Great post! That is a subject that has been on my heart throughout the years. I am adding that book to my 'wish list'. I'm sure I'll wish I had it when my children were younger too, but who knows…maybe it's all in preparation of a future with more little ones…adoption!
God Bless!
Brandi
Thank you, Jacinda! I'm so glad it was an encouragement to you! 🙂
Great post! I'm smack dab in the middle of the Little years right now and found this really encouraging.