thankful Thursday, birthday edition

I am using this whole post to share about Jonah and Noah, since today is their nineteenth birthday. I am so grateful that the Lord saw fit to make me a mom. I have a sign that hangs in my living room that says motherhood is a holy privilege, and it is. From the earliest age that I can remember, all I wanted to be was a wife and mom, so it's been an honor to be able to live out my dream. I say that, but don't think for a minute that I deeply treasured all of those years. I did in a way, but there were also years that I was resentful and took the time I had at home for granted. I am human and though I did sometimes share only the best moments of that time, I did try my best to slow down and be present for all the moments, big and small. I also tried to remind myself often that it was normal to feel those negative feelings and I do honestly believe that. I shared that with a young mom a few weeks ago and this was before the age of social media came about. I can't imagine being a young mom today, with people sharing all their best reels of life all over the internet. The competition is fierce and one is simply unable to keep up. I share that to encourage you to pray for these younger moms of today. They're living in times we couldn't have dreamed of and we need to pray that they cling to the Lord during these challenging years. 

It does not at all seem possible that our youngest sons are entering into their final teenage year. We've had teenagers in our home for an entire decade! I did love their younger years, but I have to say that I love these adult years even more. That's not to say they don't disappoint me from time to time or that they're perfect, but overall, they are such great guys. All four of them, but today I'm talking about Jonah and Noah.

I am so proud of them! In the last year they've gone through a lot of change. Because they've stayed home and not gone off to school, they have new friends and have let some of their other ones go. They might pick back up after the semester ends in May, but they've adapted well to a new life. Even more than they were before, as a sibling group all our sons are closer than they've ever been. I am so proud of them for this and you can only imagine how it thrills my heart to be able to write that. I don't take it for granted, either, this is something that I continually thank God for on a daily basis. When the boys were little and we would be gathered around the dinner table, I can remember telling them that friends would come and go over the years, but the friendships they had at that table would be the ones that lasted a lifetime. They're brothers who are close in age, but more than that, they're best friends. 

Jonah and Noah went from being full time students to full time employees after a summer off after graduation. That's a lot for a young man, but they've done incredibly well at adjusting and embracing their new normal. It's not been easy for either of them, but I am so proud at how they've handled this. In all of that change, my role in their lives changed and I've become more of a sympathetic support and an encourager to them than anything else. They all know that they can talk to me about anything and everything and they're each really good at calling me, particularly Graham and Drew. They've had good things happen throughout this last year and they've had some challenging times happen throughout the last year, but they've had loads of integrity and have been able to rise above the situation in that moment.

Like I said, I am so proud of them. They make me laugh, they make me cry (in a good way), they make me proud, they make me cringe a little. They also drive me to pray for them often, which is never a bad thing. I wish they had better relationships with the Lord and I wish that for all of my sons. They do love Him and for that I am thankful, they're just not very mature in their faith. Looking back, I try to remember that I wasn't either at that age, but by the time I'd hit my late twenties, I was. I have much hope that they'll come around to that someday and pray for that and believe that it will happen when the Lord draws them back to Him. He did that for me—He only let me get so far from Him until He pulled me back, almost as if I were on a tether. I am so grateful He did that and since that day, I've never looked back. Again, I assure you that I have loads of room for improvement in my life, but the Lord is faithful to work on me everyday of my life.

I will wrap this up with a few of my favorite memories and pictures of them from throughout the years, along with some ways that I pray for them.

From the time they were born, I have prayed and trusted the Lord for the truth of Proverbs 22:6, which says this:

Start a youth out on his way, even when he grows old he will not depart from it. 

One of my favorite passages to pray over my sons is one that comes from Numbers 6:24-26, which was a priestly blessing for the Israelites that the Lord gave Moses to tell Aaron and his sons.

May the LORD bless you and protect you; may the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD look with favor on you and give you peace.

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My greatest prayer and desire for them comes out of Deuteronomy 6:4-6, which says this:

Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.

I pray this for all four of them, their future spouses and children and grandchildren, should the Lord have that planned for each of them. 

Happy birthday, Jonah and Noah. I am thankful the Lord made me your mom! 

Thanks for reading my blog, friends. I am joining in with Rebecca Jo and Leslie for this weekly blog post. Love to all! 

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