Bedtime is quite possibly my favorite time of day. It’s not because I know that once the kids are tucked in and squared away for the night I get a couple of hours to myself. I love bedtime because it is during those last few minutes before my little ones drift off to sleep that we share our most special and intimate moments together. After stories have been read, the girls crawl up into their beds and wait for Mommy to come to them individually and pray. Because this is such a sweet time for us, I utilize it as a way to teach them memory verses from the Bible, and shower them with words of affirmation.
Listening to the girls recite back to me a verse we have been working on is truly a precious thing, even if some of the words get a little mispronounced. For instance, the other night I was sitting on Brooklyn’s bed and it was time for her to do her memory verse. Here is Psalm 139:14 according to Brooklyn:
“I praise you…dee-cause…I am fearfuuuulleee…and…wonderwear…oops…(a-hem)…wonder-fly made.”
Another night I was talking to Sydney about her day. She had been such a helper, and I told her what a blessing her assistance was to me. She smiled big and then went on to tell me how she was able to make good choices. She described it this way:
Sydney: “Mommy, God put a diamond inside of me.”
Me: “Oh really?”
Sydney: “Yes! A big, beautiful diamond! It was super shiny and shined a light for me to see how I could be a good girl today!”
Moments like these I want to hold on to forever. While there will always be challenges in parenting, as I work hard to guide and direct them along the right path, I certainly don’t want to overlook the successes we’ve had. I do a pretty good job of beating myself up over all the mistakes I make throughout the day, however when I hear my girls talk about God, and how much they love Him, I know I must be doing something right. I’m an imperfect parent, but I serve a perfect God who also guides and directs my steps throughout the day. As He is working in me, I am working on the lives of my little ones – one bedtime prayer at a time.