Caution, scary things ahead...

This morning I read an article about another two-year-old boy who was strangled by the blind cords in his bedroom. The story was heart-wrenching and I immediately panicked as I pictured the blinds in our bedrooms, cords hanging down to the ground in a seemingly harmless pile. Even though my mind knew that Ryan was at daycare, safe and sound, my heart wanted to rush home, rip the blinds off the windows, and burn them.Today. Like, right now.

But, instead, I wrote a reminder to myself on a post-it note and stuck it to my phone...where all of the important reminders go. The note says only, "blinds in bedrooms" but what it means is, "How could I have forgotten about those deadly blind cords, lurking in our bedrooms?! Why have we been tempting fate for so long? I should be on my knees thanking the Good Lord that my children haven't found those stupid things."

There are so many things in this big, big world that are dangerous for children, but I try not to dwell on that too much. After all, there has to be a happy medium between following our children around for the next 18 years, and throwing all caution to the wind, relying on fate to get our little ones into adulthood.

The spiritual and emotional health of my children is also on my mind quite often. I wonder if they are going to be productive members of society, able to hold a good job, raise a family of their own, and be active in their church and community. I want them to be happy.

But, what if....they aren't?

I cannot even begin to fathom what a surgeon must be thinking when they have someone's life in their hands. That's why I am not a doctor (Okay, so I'm sure that isn't the only reason that I'm not a doctor). I would never want that much responsibility.

News Flash...

I'm a parent. Responsibility is what I signed up for.
Ugh...the weight on my shoulders just got a little bit heavier...

On the radio this morning I heard a daily devotional about the importance of sharing our struggles and fears with each other. That we aren't in this alone.

Did you feel that? The weight, it just got lighter. My children are technically (according to the state) my dependents; they rely on Jake and I, their parents for everything. However, they also belong to God and our church and our family, and they have all promised to help us raise them, to also love and protect them.

And that makes those blinds, and all of the other scary things in this world, a little less frightening.