Becky Kopitzke

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Please Stop Growing Up

June 11, 2019

Summer is my favorite season. Ever since my girls entered school, I’ve come to treasure these fleeting sunshine days—free from classroom routines, after-school commitments, homework and social drama. Don’t get me wrong; we love our school, and I’m grateful for the hardworking teachers who pour their love and energy into my daughters day after day. School is a great blessing in our lives. And by the time June rolls around, our dear teachers deserve a break even more than we do.

Summer is a beautiful thing—for everyone.

But.

Something strange is happening now that my girls are growing older. This weird dichotomy of emotions bubbles up within me when I see my daughters stand on stage at the year-end ceremony and hug their teachers goodbye. On one hand, I’m relieved and elated and eager to have them home on summer rest.

Yet there’s this other hand that shows up now, and it slaps my heart in a tender space. Summer no longer means just popsicles and pool parties and wearing PJs ‘til noon. Now it also signifies change, growth, and time closing in.

I blinked and suddenly there’s a seventh grader living in my house. Seventh grade. That’s only six years from high school graduation. Six years from your job is done here, mother woman. Peace out.

How can that be?

I’ve been leafing through photos of my kids from their little girl years—moments I remember so clearly and yet they are so far gone now. My children are no longer the same people in those photos. They are lovelier, wiser, delightful, yes! All good things! How blessed we mothers are to witness our children becoming the people God designed them to be.

And yet. Part of my soul mourns the loss of the younger days, when my children were so much mine.

Do you feel it, too?

This is the trajectory of life, and it is blessed. God grows us just as He grows our kids, and I wouldn’t want to be the same woman I was 5 or 10 years ago, either. I need to allow my children to rise up alongside me, knowing this is all part of a greater, purposeful design.

“And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.” (Philippians 1:6, TLB)

So let us march forth into another summer, mom friends—brave and beautiful as the sun that always rises toward another day. We moms would be smart to live likewise, optimistic that each new day will be well worth luminating under God’s careful watch.

He is good. And we are all safe in His hands—moms and kids alike.

Blessings,
Becky

Do you need a little help enjoying your kids this summer—more than you scold them? Summer togetherness brings both beauty and bickering. My new book, The Cranky Mom Fix, is filled with practical wisdom for taming our “Momster” moments and discovering how we can reclaim peace in our hearts and homes. It’s now available from booksellers nationwide.

What to Read Next: My Top 10 Tips for Becoming a Kinder, Gentler Mom

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Meet Becky.

If you love your kids but you sometimes forget to feed them lunch, if you're crazy about your husband but some days you want to set his hunting gear on fire, and if you adore Jesus with your whole heart yet you mess up time and time again, then you and I are friends already.

We need each other. I'm so glad you're here.

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