Ponder & Treasure

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19
Although this is the most famous verse about Mary treasuring, it is not the only one... Mary also "treasured all these things in her heart" later in chapter 2 when they lost Jesus at the temple and in Matthew chapter 27 we learn that Mary watched from a distance as her son was crucified... I can only imagine what she was pondering and treasuring at this moment.

As I reflected on this verse, I decided to look up the meaning of the word "ponder"--my favorite definition was consider carefully. I immediately started thinking about how I often cruise through my day in "survival mode". I don't take time to ponder and treasure my everyday moments. I know that it will take constant vigilance, but I want to ponder and treasure the time I have with my children--I already know all too well how fast it flies by... To me it basically boils down to truly being present with them. Sometimes I get to the end of the day and think "What did I even do today?" I can usually list some tasks that I accomplished but I don't have any high lites to speak of. On days when I make an effort to live in the moment, I get to the end of the day and I can replay in my mind the highlights.

Here are some of my recent ponderings:

• Sadie: Listening to Sadie ask questions about why people are different; Listening to Sadie tell the creation story in her own "3-year-old" way; Watching her care for her sister and brother by doing just what I would do; Seeing her work hard to imitate everything I do from what I wear to what I say and everything in between; Watching her carefully consider how much to open up to people outside of our family; Knowing when to push her beyond her comfort zone and when to step back and let her call the shots

• Kinnick: Seeing the joy on his face as he learns how to make and throw snowballs; Watching the excitement in his face as he tells Macey "Hi!" every time she wakes up from a nap; Listening to him sing the ABC song; Listening to him say "Oh Toodles" as he watches Mickey Mouse Club House; Observing him carefully putting toys back in their places when he is done playing; Watching him as he uses his little people and toy animals to give each other Eskimo Kisses saying "Muda Muda" (Muga Muga)

• Macey: Watching her stand on her own and contemplate trying to step toward me; Seeing her face light up whenever she sees her brother, sister, mommy, or daddy; Listening to her imitate sounds and words; Watching her crawl as quickly as possible to her sister's play kitchen so she can get the play phone

The picture at the top is of Kinnick's hands... I was working on a project with Sadie one day and Kinnick wanted to help. I hadn't thought to include him because I didn't know if he would be able to do it (I have a bad habit of underestimating my kids). I pulled him onto my lap and loved watching his chubby little fingers string beads... I thought "This is a moment in time I want to remember."