Moments...

It is moments like this one, right now, that remind me that I am doing the right thing! It is moments like this, that tell me my children are better off with the life we are living than to force them into a situation where they themselves are not happy. Granted, being a single mom and taking care of 3 boys alone is not my idea of an ideal situation. And everyday I have to pray to God that he will remind each day why my life has turned out this way. And every day I awaken to three handsome boys and then I remember.

It breaks my heart to watch them wonder....to ask me the heartbreaking questions on why our family is not like other families. And simply stated, all I can say is...God has a different plan for our family! But like any six year old...more questions come from that answer and I am left with a massive headache and heartache. How many more times am I going to have to reinforce to my children that everything will be ok. That Mommy and Daddy love them but things sometimes just don't work out. That's the best answer I can give my children! What is wrong with me?! Marriages aren't about "working out", they are about working through. That is truly the mistake made! But it seems that our lack or inability to work through the hard times, have effected our children in more ways than one can imagine. Don't get me wrong, my children are happy. But it's that moment in their eyes, when they see "intact" families and don't say a word but show their longing in their glares. I wish I knew how to fix that pain. I wish that life would stop throwing my children curveballs and remember that they are just that... children. 

As a parent, we feel this overwhelming need to protect our children. To guard them from all that is bad. But what about the rest of the world. The other people who imprint on our children's lives...directly and indirectly. I encourage you as parents, mom, dads, women and men... before you put it all out there, think about who you may be affecting. Self-gratification is a wonderful feeling when its appropriate but in this day and age, in our world of technology, every moment made public is an opportunity to influence or effect a life. 

Every single moment of your existence has an effect on the rest of “time.” - D.Cook 

Let's take some time...think about our actions and how they directly and indirectly can affect our children, others children....strangers! How every action has a ripple effect and resonates throughout the world, touching more lives than that of which it was initially intended for. I cannot change the outcome of my failed marriage, it is what it is. Acceptance is never easy but it is necessary. Teaching my children that life goes on, that though the dynamics of this family are not "ideal" they are still that of a family. Together or apart, the love that we feel for our children will never change. THAT...I can promise them. But at some point, all I can do is hope that the choices we have made, that I have made, that he has made...that others have made...that those choices negative or positive will prove significant! And my children will be better for having endured it.

Take some time today, reflect, decide...choose to be effective...Positively.