This is the Day the Lord Has Made
Mrs. Annie Culbertson and Family
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
Those who grew up in a Christian home or school probably know this verse as a song. We sing this a lot at the preschool and it just recently hit me in a new way. As I sang this song and looked over at the memorial plaque of a student we sadly lost last year, I thought about how much we don’t ‘seize the day.’ Now I know that that is a phrase we hear a lot but I really felt God revealing this to me in a new way.
Currently my role is not only a preschool teacher but a mother to 2 preschoolers. Anyone that knows me knows that I am very organized and like to be in control. When I go on vacation I like to have every day planned, from the things we will do to the places we will eat. I like to have my calendar written out far in advance and have my weekly meals decided upon. I would even like to choose when to have kids, which would be during the summer since I am teacher… (oh how God smiled when my second baby came in January two years ago).
However the fact is I am not in control, God is. Matthew 6:34 says “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” As parents we constantly worry about when our child will move on to the next stage. When will they sit up? When will they crawl? When will they start walking? When will they start talking understandably? When will they be potty trained? When will they learn their letters and numbers? When will they know how to write their name? And this list keeps growing as we look to what their future holds.
As a parent I know that time moves fast, yet I feel that I have not been good about seizing the moment they are in right now. I should be enjoying how my 4 year old is excited about guessing what letter everything in our house starts with. I should be enjoying how he draws funny looking people with huge Mickey Mouse ears or writes his name incorrectly. I should be happy that my 2 year old is getting better about not crying at drop off or that he loves to sing and dance.
I should not feel worried about when my 2 year old will be potty trained. I should not worry about if my 4 year old will know everything by May before he goes to Kindergarten. If there is anything that I am really anxious about I need to give it to God, because it is all His anyway and in His perfect timing. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your request to God.” Philippians 4:6
So my challenge for us as parents is to not be as worried about preparing our children for what the future holds but to live in the moment where they are at right now. Wholeheartedly enjoying the stage our children are at today and rejoicing in what they learning each day. When they are excited that they learned something new, be excited with them and don’t push them too fast to move on to the next step. This is the day the LORD has made!
– Mrs. Annie Culbertson
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