Seize the Moment

“And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deuteronomy 11:19 

I once was told by a very wise lady, “Your children will respond much better if you will take the opportunity to talk to them when it arises rather than force it on them.”

I have thought about that piece of advice over the years as my children have grown, and often wondered exactly how I would know when that moment had come. I remember asking her, “How will I know when the time is right?” With that sweet mentoring smile she would look at me and say, “You will know.”

This weekend one of those moment presented itself, and just as if my sweet aunt was standing right there next to me, I heard this voice in my head saying, “Seize the moment.”

I love to cook breakfast for my family on Saturday mornings. Sometimes we have pancakes, sometimes hash browns, but that particular morning I had decided to make biscuits. We had slept later than usual, therefore by the time we were all up and going the kids were ready to eat.

As you probably know, it takes time to make homemade biscuits. This is not always easy for children to understand, so many times they are in and out of the kitchen asking, “Is it almost time to eat?”

I had just mixed up my dough and was beginning to place each biscuit in the pan when my oldest son, Big D came in the kitchen. (I am sure you can guess what question was on his mind.)  As he impatiently watched me form each biscuit, this is the conversation that transpired between myself and my ever-growing preteen.

Big D: “I could eat one of those biscuits right now.”

Mom: “But they’re not ready.”

Big D: ” I don’t care, I could add a little sugar and some cinnamon to them and they would be good.”

Mom: “Then they wouldn’t be biscuits, they would be doughnuts.”

At that moment, I realized that God had given me an opportunity to have one of those moments with my sweet son. I told him, “You know, we are like this dough. God had created us to be something special. Sometimes, however we get impatient and mess up his plans. We want to rush things and instead of following God’s plan for our lives we add our own stuff and turn it into something different.”

Big D looked at me and I saw the light bulb come on; lesson learned. He said, “You’re right Mom, I think I will wait.”

He then looked over at the dough that was still sitting in the bowl, and said, “That doesn’t look very good, Mom.”

Again, I knew in my heart that our moment to learn was not yet over. I took this opportunity to explain to Big D that we are like this unformed dough as well. We look at ourselves, and sometimes the world does too, and says, “What a mess. You do not look very good.”  God, however, sees us as a work in progress. He does not look at us and see the mess we are, but He sees the masterpiece that He wants to see us become.

Again, I saw the light come on and realized that we had indeed “seized the moment.”

Satisfied with the progress being made,  Big D left the kitchen, looking for his next big adventure.

As I finished making the rest of the biscuits and placed them in the oven, our conversation played back over in my head. Silently I thanked God for allowing me this moment with one of my children. I prayed that He would never let me miss one single opportunity to have these times with them.

God gives each of us opportunities to minister for Him. It is up to us to keep our hearts and minds open so we can hear when God says to us, “Seize the moment.” It may not always be with our children. God may send a family member, a friend, or even a complete stranger into our lives. We must always be ready to share God with whomever we come into contact.

I want to encourage you today. Be ready. Look for opportunities to witness to those around you, and however God sees fit to bring them about in your life, seize the moment.

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