I’m heading into a new season in my life, but I wish that I could stop time for a while. In fact, I would even turn back the hands of time if I could – not for the sake of being younger or doing some things that I’ve never done – I simply want to spend a little bit more time doing what I love. I love being a mother…but I no longer have little babies.

My beautiful boy is now a young man, and my “sugar girl” is growing into a lovely young woman. While I sit in awe of who my children are becoming, and I look forward to seeing how the Creator is going to use their lives, I can’t help but acknowledge that I miss them already. They still live in my home, but they are preparing for lives outside of it. My son is already preparing for marriage – his eyes beam with love for the wife that he has never met and children he’s yet to beget. My daughter speaks of often of Japan – her eyes tear up at the joy of living there someday and also at the thought of anything at all keeping her from it. I’ve known for many years now that I will eventually have to let her go.

When my son was 5 and my daughter was 3 years old, we began “family sleep.” On Friday’s we would watch movies and eat junk food – red vines for my son, and always something chocolate for my daughter. Afterwards, we’d gather our blankets and make pallets on the floor and sleep next to one another. We did that until my son was in his mid-teens. At 6’2” he’d had enough of camping out on the floor, and he was too big for the couch. One day, my daughter and I woke up to find that he’d retreated to his man-cave – family sleep was officially over. They grow up so fast.

I was blessed to be at home for most of my children’s lives, and eleven of those years I was also their primary teacher. In June of this year, I will no longer be able to call myself a homeschooling mother. That season in our lives is coming to a close, and as we embark on it, the workload and the learning curve is tremendous — helping my daughter apply for colleges, editing her entrance and scholarship essays, taking her to and from various places that she has to be, helping her adjust emotionally to the many changes that are taking place in her life, all while wearing the numerous other hats that moms wear on a daily basis. I’m tired at the end of the day, but I do not hasten to rest. I am holding on to these last months that I am needed to this degree. All of the hats that I wear are a blessed privilege from the Father. I am grateful for all of it.

So many mothers are torn between work and home life. There are those who are at home with their children, but struggle with it because society has all but devalued that status. There are also those that are in the workplace that desperately desire to be keepers at home. To both of these groups of mothers I admonish you to do all that you can to nurture your relationships with your children – make memories with them – enjoy the journey.

Don’t allow society to steal precious time from you with your children. If you must work outside of the home, take advantage of opportunities to not only be in your children’s presence, but to be present with them. If you are blessed to be at home with your children, disallow all voices that suggest that you should be doing otherwise. We all have roles that we play, and shaping your children to be “smooth stones” is one of them.

River stones only become smooth, because they are in constant contact with water that is moving in a predetermined direction. Over time the jagged edges of the stones become round – a smooth stone is what David used to take down Goliath. A jagged one would have missed the target. And so it is with our children. Our relationship with our children can be likened to that moving water – and water is also symbolic of the working of the Holy Spirit. Our children’s spiritual foundation is of the utmost importance. As mothers, we have a special stewardship in this area, and we must be careful to not take for granted such a precious position of influence in the lives of our children. We have to remember that this window of opportunity is very small – and we only get one chance at it.

My adult children will always be my babies, but if I had known that the last time I carried them on my hip, would be the last time – I would have carried each one of them around just a little bit longer. To the young mothers out there that are reading this blog, carry your babies around for as long as you can. Stay at home with them and nurture them for as long as you can. Don’t apologies for that. Trust me. You will even look back on some of the rough days that you’ve had as a mommy and long for them one day. What you will not do when that day comes, however, is be ashamed before the Father or before men, because your children will rise up and call you blessed (Provers 31: 28).