Our eldest son turns nine today.
I can hardly stand it.
Where do the years go? Where does God stash time? The sand flows through this hour glass faster and faster with each passing year.
Every grain that drops leaves me with the deep knowledge that this is it. This is the life we get, and we must live it well.
Here are 10 reasons to celebrate nine years of a boy’s life.
Celebrate we shall!
10. Nine years means 3,285 mornings that he has woken up, needing a mama. That means 3,285 suns have risen with new mercies for us to learn to love each otnher, grow in Christ together, be a family by His grace. Some of those days have been good, some have been straight up awful. But all of those have been ours, to make of them what we were willing, to find God’s purpose and grace in them. And for that I am grateful.
9. Nine years means double digits come next. I tremble at the thought. But man, he is so fun now. He is a tall breeze of laughter, a friend by my side many days, a glimpse of future glories. This is a year to treasure. It may be his last as a “boy”, and I refuse to miss its fantastic blast of awesomeness.
8. Nine years means he is rooted. He is strong and can bear some weight. He can do dishes and laundry. He can lead his siblings with wisdom. He is secure in our love for him, and is learning to lean more on God each day, and a little less on us.
7. Nine years means he knows I am a person. He compliments me when I dress up. He apologizes when his actions cause me pain. He empathizes with me, seeks me out, trusts me. I love that. He now experiences the joy of returning the love he has received, and it is a miracle to see that unfold in a soul.
6. These nine years have been full of health. Besides the occasional flu or virus, a bit of allergies, some scraped knees and knocked out teeth, health has reigned. Somehow we have not faced dark days in hospitals, frightening prognoses, or excruciating testing. How or why this grace has been ours, I cannot say. But for it I rejoice.
5. Nine years means new challenges. He is awakening to the voices outside our home. He rightly cares about what they all mean, how they will affect him, and how he will answer their questions and challenges. How we walk with him through this culture will effect everything the future holds for us as a family.
4. Nine years means he needs to know. He needs to know who he is becoming. I see it in his eyes when his pride is offended, when his heart is broken for others, when his questions about love seek answers. We will have to pay attention to the answers he accepts, the truths he embraces, and the falsehoods he settles upon.
3. Nine years means we need to pray. Not that we didn’t pray before, but as he grows up and a little more away, we will have to entrust him more to God’s mercy and less to our own wisdom. He will go places on his own, try new things without our hands to steady him, and meet people we don’t know. Thankfully, God goes with him when we can’t.
2. Nine years means he sees us more clearly and hears us with greater clarity. We used to wonder why our babies didn’t seem to notice that we slept all night and mimic that behavior. Now we stand humbled at the responsibility of leading him by example. It matters how we live, and never is that more apparent than when we see our children follow in our footsteps.
1. Nine years means we are halfway to the end of an era. There are 3,285 days until he can stand up and say he is legally an adult. I have 3,285 more days of him right here at home to be his biggest fan, his greatest encourager, his faithful mentor, his loving safe place before he jets off into the wide world without me. I will always be his mama, but I know this gig is about working my way out of a job. He needs to need me less and less as the years pass, but love me more and more. I am running out of time, and I must do this well. This role as mama is my greatest challenge, my most precious treasure, and the beauty of all beauties.
Oh, how nine years pass like a day. Happy Birthday, to my big treasure of a son. I love you so much!
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