When something's amiss with one of your kids, life comes to a screeching halt in a mother's heart. A long weekend and some time off usually brings the good stuff to the surface--even if the good stuff is hard stuff.
The older boys are no longer thinking only on legos and trains...they are considering the world around them. They are processing what relationships are all about, inside the family and out. They are developing personal habits for how to respond to stress, fear, anxiety, and anger. They are starting to have thoughts that their own mother may not know about. I can see it on their faces, and in the questions they ask. They are boys becoming men.
It occurred to me this past weekend, that I may be missing it...by assuming too much.
I assume they know that Jesus loves them. I assume they know it's okay to fail. I assume they think my explanations are sufficient. I assume they know I don't mean it when I let my temper and my tongue get the better of me. I assume they say what's on their minds. I assume they understand what growing up looks like. I assume they don't overhear adult conversations. I assume they know I'm not perfect. I assume they like themselves. I assume they know I love them.
Assumptions affect how we perceive needs, how we respond to a cry or a complaint, how we converse, and what questions we ask. They are the difference between if there's time and making time. They can reorganize our priorities in an instant if we discover them to be false.
If an assumption is that which is accepted as true without proof, then there are no assumptions in motherhood save this:
Our children are changing and growing day by day, whether we see it or not. Let's not miss it while assuming we are in the trenches, when perhaps it's the sidelines where we are most comfortable.
