Tragedies Birth Resilience

Tragedies birth resilience in your life.

In an instant a perfectly beautiful day can turn into an “inferno” you must survive.

After June 24. 1971

The day was beautiful. One of those typical bright sunny Florida days. I sat watching the wake from the boat propellers as we headed back to shore. At eight years old I didn’t have a care in the world.

We were returning from a fun day of deep sea fishing. My brother was putting away all the fishing gear, mom was down in the galley cleaning up, Jay Jay (my dog) was sleeping on the seat pad covering one of the outboard engines, and dad was on the fly bridge steering us back to the marina.

Then suddenly there was the sound of an explosion coming from behind me. I spun around to witness fire and smoke billowing from the engines.

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They Still Call Mom

In a world full of devices and non-stop connecting…They still call Mom.

 

As our children age they still need Mom. Not mommy or mama, but simply Mom. Mom is a place of comfort and support. We are Moms for life. ConnieAlbers.com

One day you are wrapping your arms around your child to comfort them for a skinned elbow, or making them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or putting on a colorful Band-Aid that fixes anything.  Now, you are receiving late night texts from your young adult child asking for prayer about a heart-breaking relationship. It appears our older, wiser mentors were right when they said, “Challenges of parenting do not go away when the kids get older; they just get more complex.”

This is what I was told many times.

Now that my children are older I find myself echoing similar statements.

In my early years of parenting, when I passed up opportunities to be more involved outside the home, I questioned my decisions.

Invitations to sit on boards in the community or serve on committees at church were carefully considered so that I could have the  time, and energy to avail myself to training the hearts of my children and cultivating our relationships.  The early morning time readings, conversations and prayers, the talk-time in the cars on the way to co-ops and sporting events, the hanging out on the couch in the very late evenings because that’s when they liked to open up and share their deepest thoughts—all these cumulative moments and hours helped cultivate a heart in my children to maintain a relationship with me even now.

When they were younger, the focus was on teaching worldviews, Biblical truths, and basic life disciplines.  That focus continues but now with more emphasis on listening, encouraging and supporting.   It is a rich blessing, a high calling and a beautiful ministry.

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