Before I Formed You, I Already Knew You

The Prophet

Your children are not your children.They are the sons and daughters of
Life's longing for itself.They come through you but not from you, and though
they are with you, and yet they belong not to you.You may give them your love,
but not your thoughts.For they have their own thoughts.You may house their
bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.For life goes not backward, nor tarries with
yesterday.

- Kahlil Gibran

Twenty-six, Twenty-three and thirteen are their ages now. Each with a completely different personality and outlook on life. Each have carried themselves, with their goals in their hands, some finished, some still being worked on, and probably a few being looked at, as if to wonder, what was up with those?

Maturity within a child's eyes seems to illuminate out of them when this precious gift comes and becomes every mother's blessing. It is a deep bitter sweet emotion of knowing that your child has grown to another level in life that will enable them to go the distance, even without you. It is an expression of their confidence, strength, honor, and their love and passion for understanding what is right, what is wrong and carrying this forward in life, to yet lead another, when the time comes that they are given the gift of parenthood.

A gift that we can only keep for such a small amount of time. A gift that we actually have to let go of and give back to the giver. A gift that when given, placed our lives on hold, so we could install what the giver intended for us to finish installing and help create, a human being. The giver makes no mistakes by placing that gift in our hands. Each were chosen by God to exist, just as we as adults were. His choice was deliberate.

One of my favorite verses I have ever read in the bible is: Jeremiah 1:5 that,

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you."

It is by our own hands that the mistakes are made, and there will be some made. I mean after all, we're only adults. We too, are only growing and learning every single day also. Hopefully we have the tools of this understanding, knowing what is right from wrong and teaching from experiencing, and experiencing from teaching. One doesn't have to actually birth a child to be a mother to a child. When any child is placed in your guidance for teaching, then there is a two fold gift here, the teaching and the experiencing.

At best, we can take what we know, striving to help them create the person, they themselves are striving to become. Becoming exactly what God intended them to become, not what we as Mother's want them to become.

We may have them for but a small amount of time, but we can't own their minds, nor can we expect them to transform over into our minds. We nourish, we lead, we protect, we teach, then we give them back to God, the giver.

May the blessing be yours on Mother's Day and always,

Passion ~