I Hope You Dance

We danced this morning -- on our driveway while waiting for the carpool. It's a beautiful morning, so I walked out on the driveway with the girls. I'm not even sure how it happened, but suddenly I was teaching my girls the waltz. On our driveway. At 8 in the morning. On a cool, sun-kissed morning.

As I walked back in the house, I took time to just savor the moment. The return to school this year has been tough on my youngest. She's doing great at school, but she's exhausted when she gets home. We've had more temper tantrums and whining in the last week than we had all summer. It seems like all I've done for the past four days is correct her behavior, send her to her room and take privileges away. God knew I needed to dance with her this morning.

My oldest is entering the "tween" years, and she's been trying out her eye-rolling and new-found sarcasm abilities. She's not as cuddly as she once was, and she's a whole lot more independent. We've had our fair share of stomping feet and "That's not fair" in the past few weeks. God knew I needed to dance with her this morning, too.

Since I got home from She Speaks, I've been trying to finish up a Bible study curriculum for our church for the fall, work on my freelance projects, get everyone back to school and get my house back in order from the whirlwind summer. I've been short-tempered, quicker to snap at people than to laugh with them and just generally tired. God knew my girls needed to dance with me this morning.

So, we danced this morning, and I want to encourage you to do the same with your kids. Oh, you don't have to teach them the waltz. You don't even have to really dance. Just find a moment in your day to enjoy your children. Don't try to teach them some big concept, don't try to ask questions about their day -- just enjoy their company. Laugh with them. Enjoy their different personalities. Treasure who God made them to be.

God knows you need to dance, too. While it is important for us to be intentional in teaching our children Biblical truth, it's equally important that we take the time to enjoy our children as the perfect little gifts that they are. Psalm 127:3-5 says "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." In the everyday grind of life, it's easy to get caught up in the things we need to do and the things our children need to know. We can lose our perspective that our children are a reward from God -- they are a blessing.

So, today, I hope you dance.