Hold Them Close

It is so easy, in the midst of parenting, educating, and discipling our children, to lose sight of how precious they really are. We can take for granted the gift that we call life. We can assume that our children will be around forever, always available for us to snuggle with, read to, or laugh and make memories with. But we must not! Life is precious, and the time we have with our children is short - very, very short.

Today, as I type this, a family is grieving for their seventeen year old daughter, whose lungs were destroyed by pneumonia. Another is waiting anxiously by the bedside of their critically ill daughter, hoping they can get her home before she dies. Neither one expected to face this tragedy, or could have imagined the possibility of burying a child. But, as the bombing in Boston or the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas have reminded us; life is full of what we don't expect.

So, as you educate your children today, don't lose heart. The road is long, the battle can be wearying. But try to treasure the moments (both precious and not so much) with your child now, because (as many parents in CFHE know) you may not have tomorrow!

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