The Last Time

So I went to my MOPS meeting today. I have really loved looking forward to each meeting every other week. It gives me the fellowship and friendships with other moms that I so need in this stage of my life right now. This week was no exception, as we had a guest speaker who reminded us that we should find JOY in each season, and to fight the urge to rush each season by. I am guilty of this, and after today, will try to look to each season that God has blessed me with, and enjoy it rather than rush it away.

She spoke on this and read this sweet poem by Karen Kingsbury that I will always cherish. There wasn't a dry eye there after she read it to us! It spoke to me and really made me want to slow each moment down and enjoy them rather than wishing it all to go by and get easier. If you haven't heard this poem before, maybe it will speak to you to in whatever season you might be going through right now.

The Last Time

"Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts.
First smiles and teeth and baby steps, a sunbeam on the
burst. 

But one day you will move away and leave to me your past,
And I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts.


The last time that I held a bottle to your baby lips... 

Last time that I lifted you and held you on my hip... 

Last time when you had a binky stuck inside your mouth... 

The last time that you crawled across the floor of this old house.   

 

Last time when you ran to me, still small enough to hold,  

Last time when you said you'd marry me when you grew old.  

Precious, simple moments and bright flashes from the past,  

Would I have held you longer if I'd known they were the last?   

 

Your last few hours of kindergarten, last days of first grade... 

Last at bat in Little League, last colored paper made.   

Last time that I tucked you in for one last midday nap... 

Last time when you wore your beat-up Green Bay Packers cap.   

 

Last time you caught a frog in that old backyard pond... 

Last time when you ran barefoot across our fresh-cut lawn,  

Silly scattered images to represent your past.   

Would I have taken pictures...if I'd known they were the last?   

 

The last dark night you slipped in bed and slept between us two,  

When last I read to you of God or Horton Hears a Who! 

Last time that I smelled your hair and prayed after your shower... 

Last time that we held devotions in the evening hours.   

 

The last time you were M.J. in our games of give-and-go... 

Last time that you made an angel in the melting snow. 

I never even said good-bye to yesterdays long passed.   

Would I have marked the moments...if I'd known they were the last?   

 

Last piano lesson, and last soccer goal you kicked... 

The last few weeks of middle school, last flowers that you picked. 

Last time that you needed me for rides from here to there... 

The last time that you spent the night with that old tattered bear. 

  

Last time that I helped you with a math or spelling test, 

Last time when I shouted your room was a mess.   

Time and life moved quicker, taking pieces of your past. 

Would I have stretched the moments...if I'd known they were the last?   

 

The last time that you needed help with details of a dance... 

Last time that you asked me for advice about romance.   

Last time that you talked to me about your hopes and dreams. 

Last time that you wore a jersey for your high school team.   

 

I watched you grow and never noticed seasons as they passed. 

I wish I could've frozen time, to hold on to your lasts.  

For come tomorrow morning life will never be the same.   

You'll pledge forever to your girl, and she will take your name. 

 

And I will watch you, knowing God has blessed you with this day. 

I never would have wanted, Luke, to somehow make you stay.   

They say a son's a son until he takes for him a wife.  

You're grown-up now; it’s time to go and start your brand new life.   

 

One last hug, one last good-bye, one quick and hurried kiss... 

One last time to understand just how much you'll be missed.   

I'll watch you leave and think how quickly childhood sped past.  

Would I have held on longer....if I'd known it was your last?" 

 

 

 

 

-Karen Kingsbury 

After hearing that poem, I took from it to savor moments like these

This was Ryder at Thanksgiving, a week after he was born. This poem really spoke to me, thinking about the moments with him and each last thing he did, and it spoke to me with Brynley to enjoy this hard newborn season with her, as it will be the last baby moments we will have.

It's hard to believe Ryder was that small, as I now look at him all grown up. He tried to get in Brynley's Bumbo this week and he just looked SO BIG! Well I hope I haven't made ya'll cry too!

Happy Thursday!