So many birthdays in the past two months! The young and old alike. What's so special about Birthdays?
A birthday is the day of our birth in this world. A full clean slate of anticipation! Hopes and dreams from those who love us! Then as we grow we gradually wonder, what do I hope and dream for myself? It doesn't take long before that clean slate fills up with doubts and fears. We all were born with unique characteristics, gifts, and love languages, that make our desires and ideas prone to look different, be misunderstood, or even ridiculed. It's then that ideas and dreams begin to fade.
It is easy as a parent to want your child to do things we may have dreamed for them, or even diminished dreams we had for ourselves that over time never flourished for whatever reason. We want them to make a good living, prosper, have security, be happy, and feel loved. As a mom of grown children, I certainly would not have imagined the career choices my boys picked.
My first child chose to pick a career as a Marine that is dangerous and life-threatening. He has been in three war zones and has never lived near us since. The second child, stopped college at the end of his third year to pursue starting up a company with his best friend. I couldn't even explain what he was actually going to do! So feeling a little concerned is an understatement. The third son found the need to start his own construction company, so he left a good job with benefits just before his third child was born!
What was our option as parents? Ridicule their dreams? Place doubt in their minds? We had many reasons to advise them not to take those risks. I literally remember thinking back to each of their Birthdays...the day they were born. The full clean slate that awaited them, for their dreams. Looking back at their childhoods, I could actually see their personalities and interests take shape into their career choices. I started to feel proud of the chances they were taking and planned to support their decisions, even though I didn't fully agree or understand.
One thing I hope they realize... with that admiration of them taking a chance on the unknown, courage begins to blossom in those around them. Will they remember the support and encouragement received when they were scared yet excited, and offer the same encouragement to someone else? My hope is, that they will... even if it's their own Momma.
~Cathy
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