Dear Beloved Child of mine,

You are loved.  You are loved far more than you can ever imagine.  You will never understand the sacrifice of that love until you are a parent to your own beloved child. This is how it should be.

Because of my love for you, You are more important than anything this world has to offer. In the end, all the successes, all the failures, are not as significant as I thought. They are fleeting and empty but I get distracted by them. I have to remind myself what really matters.

I made a list.

You are more important than my smartphone. All the messages, texts and information are not as urgent as what you want to tell me right now. About your day and the math test I helped you study for all week. About how the mean girl was back to her usual tricks. About the cool comic your friend brought to school today. These tidbits of your life are of value to me.

You are more important than any YouTube video that has caught my eye. It is not as relevant as this time, right now, watching you play in the sandbox with your trucks. Cheering you on as you shoot hoops for the school team. Having a tea party with you and sixty of your closet doll friends. These things are far more endearing than any video on a screen.

You are more important than my TO DO list. I want to teach you that chores are good and need to get done, but they are not more important than you. As my Mama tells me, “The dirt and dust will be there, waiting for you, tomorrow.” So it will. You, on the other hand, I only have for a very short handful of years.

You are more important than winning this fight. Consequences have a way of teaching lessons far more expertly than I can. Grace, compassion, and humility are teachers who leave good, lasting impressions. Far better than proving I’m right. I would rather hug you than win anything.

Because you are important and you matter, I will also teach you that you don’t have to be entertained all day, every day by me. That solitude and boredom are good, because they can breed creativity and reflectiveness. I will show you that you are quite capable of entertaining yourself.

Because you are important and you matter, I will teach you that other relationships in my life are important too.  My relationship with your Daddy for one. If we take care of one another, it benefits you greatly. I will also care for myself. If I give until I have nothing left, I get cranky. So I have to take time out for me. It makes me a better Mom.

Because you are important and you matter, I will teach you that my relationship with God comes first. No one should ever usurp Him. If I can keep this relationship as the most important one of all, then everything else lines up.This is a lesson I want to deeply impress upon you, so that you run after it too.

I love you. And I really like you too!

Love,

Mom