Psalm 127:3

"See, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."


It's an interesting perspective...being on this end of being a parent.  When my kids were very small, there were many long nights of rocking, crying (both them and me) and worry.  I wondered to myself, "God calls this a 'blessing'?  Really?"


The teen years really threw me for a loop, and sometimes...they still do.  After all, you love them, give up your life for them, and sometimes, they roll their eyes at you, say the most terrible things about you, and even worse things to you.  


Yet, as the tragedies of the past few years befell us, my children have become my most priceless "possession."  As we have gone through pictures as we pack, I have realized how much like their father the boys look.  It is so nice to have part of him still here.  My daughter, Teri, has come to help us pack.  I know that I would not have been able to complete this huge task if it weren't for her assistance.  Today, she helped me complete the tear down of the office.  I had been three days working on the office prior to her arrival.  It seemed the more I went through, the more the piles grew!  


We went out to dinner last night, to celebrate Camm's 21st birthday.  I looked around the table at all of my children except Megan, who is teaching school in South Carolina.  I realized how blessed I am.  The traditions, the beliefs, the integrity that we hoped to instill are all in tact.  They were respectful to the waitress, kind to one another, and they were totally enjoying sharing a meal.  


When I needed them, they have come to my rescue.  I understand now that the Lord means it when He tells us that children are a blessing.  The long nights I invested, in what I thought was their future, turned out to be an investment in my own.