One of the things I love about being a parent is getting to see the world through my son’s eyes. He has such a fresh, new perspective on everything that I would consider commonplace or mundane. It brings new life into many things for me as I get to enjoy them with him. I am very thankful for this.

I was reminded recently of attending my cousins wedding when my son was 3. She is a beautiful young lady who married a fine young man. I am very happy for them both. We went to the ceremony and we sat off to the side, not knowing how a toddler would handle sitting through a wedding (thank the Lord for the iPhone). As the ceremony started our son looked back and saw my cousin in her dress. He looked at his mama and said, “Mama! Its a princess!” Now, that is exactly how every woman wants to feel at her wedding.

It was a great joy to watch her get married. I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with that side of the family over the years as I am 12 years older than she is. However, I have enjoyed watching her grow up. Her dad and my aunt got together when she was three. I remember meeting her for the first time. She didn’t know what to think of me, but we became buddies pretty quick. I didn’t know that my own three year old would be watching her in her wedding all these years later. She was a cute kid. She is a beautiful woman. I am proud of her. She did look like a princess.

As I sat there watching I was taken back to my own wedding. I remember when the chapel doors opened up and I saw my bride in her dress for the first time. I cried. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I experienced a range of emotions in that moment: She looked beautiful, She was about to be mine, We were declaring our love to the world, We were promising to be together always, and so much more. The emotions rushed back at me as I remembered my bride, who also looked like a princess. She is more beautiful now as my Queen.

I am grateful for the perspective of my son. Seeing the world through his eyes is a privilege that I cherish…when he was three and all these years later. He saw a princess that day. It still makes me so thankful for him and my Queen.

Verse 1

All of my life I have found that love breaks your heart and lets you down. Just when you think it is right, you give all you can give your love fades away and makes it harder to live.

When I wasn’t looking love came and found me out. With every day that passes there is little left to doubt. Her love was unexpected, something I never thought I’d find and before I knew it she was changing my mind.

Chorus

She’s changing my mind. She’s helping me stand. The hurt has gone away wounds starting to mend. I swore to myself I’d never go through this again, but she changed it all with just the touch of her hand.

Verse 2

I don’t know how to act, I don’t know what to say. She is all I ever needed, her love has made a way. She brought this heart of stone back to life again with just the touch of her hand.

Chorus

She’s changing my mind. She’s helping me stand. The hurt has gone away wounds starting to mend. I swore to myself I’d never go through this again, but she changed it all with just the touch of her hand.

I was sitting at work the other day and I couldn’t get it off my mind. It bugged me and bugged me and bugged me. I did my best to ignore it. But, it nagged me until I paid attention. I tried to put it off again. Fail. I tried again. Epic fail. What had me in its grip? Worry.

It doesn’t matter what it is that we worry about, once we let it get in there it is so hard to get it to go away. It could be about money, health issues, relationships, or a variety of other things that are important to us. They are often unfounded, or barely founded. But, once it gets in your mind it multiplies like wild fire.

I have spent more than my share of time battling it over the years. Finding out I had cancer in 2004 and again in 2018 provided a ton of it. Losing a job years ago added a bunch. Complications with our son’s delivery added more than I thought I could bear. What did it all amount to? A lot of stress that didn’t do me any good in the end.

There is a great verse that goes like this: who by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:27) I have discovered this time and time again. Being concerned about things can be productive. Doing my part is necessary. But, letting those concerns shift to worry only makes us anxious and clouds our minds. Concern and hope can exist together. Worry chokes hope.

After my diagnosis in 2004 and in 2018, I decided that I was going to do everything in my power to live. I would endure the surgery. I would undergo chemotherapy. I would do everything I could to make sure I had the best chance possible. The results were up to God. I just wanted to make sure I did my part. I was concerned. I refused over and over to let it turn into worry. Thankfully, the outcome is what I wanted it to be. I am still here. I still fight worry all the time. I am still here.

What do you worry about? Are the problems real or imagined? Are they things you can do something about? Do you need to ask for help? If they are things you can tackle, get after it. If they are things you need help with, ask. If they are things you have no control over, do what you can do.

Even if I have to make the choice a thousand times, I refuse to let worry overtake me. I know it won’t do me any good in the long term and it makes the short term miserable.

If you could win awards for drawing up brilliant plans, I am not sure I would win one. I make good plans all the time. I am not sure they are brilliant, but I do have some good ones though. I sit down and plan out my attack on whatever goal it is. Then I sit down later and plan it out a different way. Then I sit down even later and plan it out again. Did I mention that no execution followed any of the planning?

I don’t know if I just like looking a problem and figuring out ways to get around it (on paper), or I have just been scared to get my butt moving and follow one of the many plans I have drawn up (whatever the goal may be). The truth is this: a plan isn’t worth a nickle if it isn’t put into action. It is just some dreams scribbled on a piece of paper. It only becomes reality when you do the work. And it may look very different when the plan is executed than you thought it would when you started off.

I was reading a blog post by Michael Hyatt the other day. He interviewed Alison Levine about her expeditions to climb Mount Everest. The first time she attempted it was in 2002 and she (and her team) had to turn back when they were 200 feet from the summit. Things did not go to plan. She took a team back to Everest last year and was able to complete the climb.

She had a plan. She set about the execution of that plan. However, she said in the video that even though they had a plan, there are times you have to take action based on the situation at hand and not necessarily stick to the plan. In her first climb the climate and situation dicatated that they turn back. There may have been major injury or death had they stuck to the plan.

I had to sit and think about the message she shared. A plan is just that a plan. It has to be put into action. It is what initially gets you moving. Once you are moving though, you have to be aware of what is going on around you. There may be things you didn’t plan for and you have to take action. Even if the plan isn’t brilliant, it can be updated on the go. 

So, maybe my approach of planning from multiple angles isn’t all bad…provided I make adjustments while my original plan is in motion. The point is to get moving. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Get moving and adjust. You (and I) May end up somewhere better than we first intended.

It seems the older I get the faster time passes. You know what I mean don’t you? We get through the weekend and it is Monday again, and then before you know it the week is gone and so is the next weekend. There have been times of late it seems like every time I take a breath a few months have gone by. Has it always been this way? Or am I just noticing it more now? I think I am just noticing it more. The reason? My boy is growing up in front of my eyes.