He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.” Luke 21:29-31
My husband and I had a wedding last weekend, two hours away in Maine. My husband’s cousin, MaryAnn, was incredibly generous and offered to take our three kids to her house for the whole weekend so that we could get a hotel room! What a gift! When I checked in with MaryAnn on Saturday to see how the first night went, she said that the only bump in the road was that she had forgotten to put a diaper on Jocelyn at bed time. My little four year old is not potty-trained through the night yet.
My first reaction was that I felt terrible that MaryAnn had been woken up in the middle of the night to have to deal with the outcome of that. But she reassured me that that wasn’t the case. All three kids had slept in the same room. So Jocelyn had woken up Zack instead. And bless his little heart, my ten year old helped his little sister address the situation all by himself, letting everyone else sleep! My heart was bursting with pride!
Zack is an August boy. He’s always the youngest in his class at school. Therefore, when I compare him to his peers, he always seems so young and immature. Sometimes I’m patient and understanding of that. Other times, I forget his chronological age and I expect more of him, then end up annoyed and frustrated.
When the fig tree mentioned in this scripture passage sprouts leaves, it is the promise of winter brought to fruition in spring. When any promise is kept and carried out, all does seem right with the world. It is then that we get a small glimpse of the kingdom of Heaven: where all the greatest promises will be brought to fruition.
Every mother wants her kids to get along, to take care of each other, and to love each other deeply and forever. That day, hearing that Zack has taken such good care of his little sister, I felt like he had blossomed and matured overnight. I saw the promise of every mother’s dream becoming a reality in my life, and this mother truly felt like the kingdom of God is near!
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Shifting My Perspective 
I love how you always connect scripture to the daily life of moms and families. Sometimes when we’re so busy throughout our short days, we fail to see these lessons and make the connections.
It makes me happy too, when I see my son- also an August baby and youngest in his class at school- make mature decisions and especially when he behaves like a good big brother!
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The nice part about writing weekly is it forces me to see God everywhere and in everything. For me, that’s the greatest blessing that has come out of this! It’s wonderful to be able to share it with like-minded moms like yourself, Deborah! 🙂
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Wow!! Zack is such a special little guy with a big heart. I love this story and love how much he always looks out for his sister!! He has incredible parents who are raising him to be a thoughtful and caring young man.
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What a very sweet comment to leave Jess! I so appreciate it!
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