Happy Birthday Brett!

So today my son Brett turned 16---I remember when he was little and everyone would say enjoy every minute it goes by fast, he will be grown before you know it.  I would smile and nod, but I never really thought too much about it, but now I see it with my own eyes, I have experienced it with my own heart.  Every moment is truly a gift and we are to cherish them as such.  I think sometimes that there are so many things that I would do differently if I could go back, but then I think again because although there is some things that I could improve on I certainly wouldn’t change the person that Brett has become.  I never have to wonder about the person that Brett will turn out to be, because he is that person already.  It seems he has always been that person.  He has always, always been the most kind-hearted person that I have ever known.  He has taught me so much about who I am and the person that I want to be.  He is honest and sincere, and honestly doesn’t care what the world thinks---he never has and I hope he never will.  I will never forget one time when there was some questionable language and actions from some other students at school and I was asking Brett about it.  He said, ‘mom, I would rather not say those things in front of you, it just doesn’t feel right to repeat some things in front of your mother’.  I never pushed it further; I just thanked him for having such respect for me because I know that the respect will carry over to the girls that he will date and eventually the woman that he marries.

I have always tried to be a good mother to my children, but very often I find myself in awe of my children and how truly good they are.  I know that the goodness they have inside can only come from one thing and that is the goodness of Jesus Christ.  They truly love the Lord and trust him with everything that they have.  It seems that we feel such a burden to be a good parent, to make sure we teach our children the way they should go, to ensure that they turn out to be good, productive people, but all the while God is using them to show us the way we should go, to teach us how to be good, productive Christians.

Just as I will never be a perfect person, I will never be a perfect parent, but when I turn it over to God, when I seek Him for guidance over me and my children He will work everything out for the good.  Brett has turned out to be such an incredible young man, but I can truly say that it is because of the grace of God that he is the person he is.

Brett, I love you more than you will ever know---but even that love doesn’t compare to the love that our Savior, Jesus Christ has for you.  I will never be the perfect parent, I will make mistakes, and I will even fail you at times, but always, always remember that there is someone who is the perfect parent, that will never make mistakes and that will never, ever fail you and that is Jesus Christ.  Brett, hold on to Jesus with everything you have and He will take you to places that you can never even dream of. 

Happy 16^th Birthday Brett!!! Love you, Mom