The Blessing of Every Moment

I was just sitting on the deck, enjoying the gentle breezes of a June late-day, decompressing from another of those life-altering parental experiences...high school graduation.  Clayton was one of more than six-hundred graduates from Lake Braddock Secondary School who walked across the stage at the Patriot Center this morning.  Like other parents, Cindy and I felt great pride in our child and his accomplishments, and like other parents, we wondered where the time had gone.  Seems like just last week we brought him home from.  the hospital, nervously listening for every breath as he slept in his crib that first night.  The picture of him in his blue cap and gown at Mother's Day Out graduation still hangs in our bedroom, along with a variety of athletic pictures from soccer to baseball to basketball. There are reminders of his buddies, their parents, teachers, and coaches that have intersected our lives whose stories are woven into the fabric of a journey that seems to have begun only yesterday.

Many of you have already been down this path and are smiling in quiet recognition of one of the shared experiences of parenting...our children grow up too fast!!!  Then again, a recent birthday has reminded me that the experiences of life pass quickly for us in most arenas of life, and no matter how much we try to slow that pace down, time marches on.  So, unable to slow its movement, we are left with the challenge to make the most of every moment, appreciating the laughter and the tears, the victories and defeats, while cherishing every moment as another experience to be treasured.  Our lives are made up of these treasures, unpacked whenever we gather with family or friends during holidays and reunions where pictures tell stories and reminiscences make distant memories come to life.

The sun is setting and the day is near its end.  It has been a great day...indeed, it has been a blessed life.  By God's grace, there will be new chapters to share, new memories to make and cherish.  Time does indeed fly...thanks be to God for the blessing of every moment!

Jim Abernathy