Taking Childhood for Granted

I hope all you dads out there had a great Father’s Day! I certainly have one of the best.

I’m one of those incredibly blessed people who didn’t realize how incredibly blessed she was growing up. I definitely took my childhood for granted.

I took for granted that I had a loving mom and dad (who just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year!).

I took for granted that my parents were able to work together at home and were always around.

I took for granted that there were horses everywhere and I could ride anytime I wanted. Every little girls dream, right?

I took this view for granted. Chugwater is a lot of things, but ugly is not one of them.

I took for granted that my grandma lived right down the driveway and that I was able to spend every summer with my grandpa.

I took for granted that my parents are the best kind of people. They loved and cared for my brothers and I.

They didn’t push us to be someone we’re not, but expected us to be the best people God called us to be. They taught us about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They modeled faith, strength, kindness, dedication, independence, hard work, humility, selflessness, honesty and integrity.

I could ramble on and on about my parents. About the giving, compassionate, strong woman my mother is.

About the humble, courageous, smart and funny man my dad is.

But, I think the best testament to their character is that they raised kids who were ABLE to take our childhood for granted.

Instead of worrying, we were dreaming. Instead of crying, we were laughing. Instead of feeling lost, we were covered in warm embraces. My heart overflows with gratitude.

God Bless You and American Agriculture,

Liz

If you just read this post and thought, “that’s not even close to my experience growing up,” please don’t feel downhearted. Even if you had bad examples in your parents on earth, there is a Heavenly Father who is more than enough. He can fill your every need and you can lean on Him to be everything your human parents couldn’t be. To learn more, please visit http://www.sbc.net/knowjesus/theplan.asp, http://www.klove.com/ministry/why-jesus.aspx, http://rickwarren.org/know-god or read the Bible for free at http://www.biblegateway.com/.