What if You Could See Your Life in a Time Lapse Video, Mama?

Tonight we will talk about what it would look like if we could see our lives as mamas in a time lapse video. What would we see?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Have you ever stopped to consider what your life would look like from a time-lapse perspective, Mama? We're gonna talk about that tonight on midlight. Today I had the opportunity of going huckleberry picking with my family. We have done this for years as a family together, and I realized as I was bending over and picking up huckleberries in the woods that my life has changed and it looks different today than it did last year when we did huckleberry picking. And I realized how far we've come from having little babies and carriers and then little toddlers holding hands with ours not to trip. And I realized that today our youngest was able to easily pick huckleberries all by herself and know what was right and know what was not right in terms of berries and just chat with me as we picked together. And I realized we were in a new season this year in our huckleberry time, and it made me think of this concept of a time lapse of our life. And I thought it's so interesting to think about at this point because so many Instagram reels or YouTube shorts or anything, they're just like a time lapse, like where time is captured in a fast way, but you can see that the time is moving. And I thought, isn't that fitting for us as mothers? Like we are doing the same things day in, day out. We have these rhythms and these routines, but we are creating these legacies right now as we move forward in time, doing these rhythms and routines and taking care of our families, the good, the bad, the ugly. And I just thought for a minute today, as mamas, what if there was a camera watching the whole time, making a time lapse of what we do day in and day out, but also year by year, year in and year out. And I thought some of the things I would have loved to have caught on a time-lapse video, like just the spot where we go huckleberry picking and watching our family grow and change and go from babies and toddlers to older children, and then even seeing our grandbabies in some of the shots. And I thought, what a beautiful rhythm and routine in our family is to do this huckleberry picking in this spot every year, and how we've changed over the years, but we're building this legacy, right? Like we're still continuing to do some things the same, but at the same time, everything is changing. The children are getting older, they're growing up, they're moving on and different things, and yet there are some things that are just foundational, and one of them for us as a family is this little outing that we do a couple times every summer. And I thought, what if we zoomed way out from this moment and we looked at it from an eternal perspective and a legacy angle, and we thought about all the things that we are doing that are creating this eternal perspective for our children and this legacy? Like, what are we actually planting in this fast-forward season of our motherhood? Because it will be gone so quickly. But isn't it a beautiful time to just stop tonight and reflect on your time lapse as a mother? Yours and mine would look somewhat similar, but yet so different. I'm sure that we all have things in our day that are similar, like eating and getting dressed and taking care of our babies and doing laundry and doing dishes and preparing meals, and yet there's going to be such differences between who I am in my time lapse and who you are in yours. But I just think that's even beautiful itself because it means that God has created each one of us to be just his and to raise these children and be a part of this family and leave a legacy behind us, and it is personal. It is like our fingerprints, our time lapse with our families is personal. And I think the reason that time lapse caught my attention is I have been keenly aware that we get just we just get a little time at this thing. It's not forever that we're gonna be on earth raising our families, it's really just for a specific amount of time. And I know we've talked about this in the past, but I really want to do it well. You know, in my time-lapse video, I could think of things I really would like to see, like our rituals or our routines, right? Like Christmas from year to year in that same living room with those same children, but as they grow and mature and change. And my husband and I, as we fall more in love with each other and grow older together, we would love to see that. But about the different cars that are in our driveways and the different things that God has entrusted to us along the way, maybe even it's a business thing for you and your family or a work situation, like maybe some of you own something that you run, or you know, we all have our own stories. But I want to do this thing well. When I look back on my time lapse video, I'm sure I would see things where I was almost embarrassed and I felt saddened by, like in the way that I handled my children or my husband, if I did not handle them with care and nurturing and love. So I'm trying really hard to make sure that if I were on a time-lapse video in my mind, would I like what I saw? Do I handle people the way that God wants me to handle them? And especially my own people, my children, my husband. So, mamas, I want you to step back and look at this from an aerial perspective of your own life and what does your time lapse look like? Are you allowing God to walk with you through the hard nights, the wakeups, the nursing sessions, the bottle making? Are you allowing God to help you with your finances and your attitudes and your families, like their their needs? Are you allowing God to help you in those places? And if not, mama, the beautiful thing is his mercy is new every morning. But I wanted to share a couple of verses with you tonight. And one of them comes from Psalm 90 in verse 12, which says, Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. And I feel like that goes along with what we just talked about about paying attention to how we are handling things. I am trying to handle things with an eternal perspective and recognizing that I will not be here forever. And I have the opportunity right now to leave and create and live the legacy out that I want to for my babies and my children. The other verse I wanted to share with you tonight comes from Ecclesiastes chapter 3 in verse 1. There is a time for everything, and a time for every purpose under heaven. Mama, you are in that time right now. You are in this season because God chose this for you for right now. So, mamas, as you look at your time lapse, know that there is a season for everything, and the one that you're in right now is orchestrated by God for you and your baby and your family. And the last verse I want to read to you tonight comes from Psalm 139, verses 13 through 16. And it says, For you formed my inward parts, you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed, and in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. God knew you, mamma. He knew you before this moment ever came to be, and he knows the season, and he knows the families he's given you. So mammas, rest in that understanding tonight. And tonight I want to leave you with a blessing, mammas, from number six, twenty four through twenty six, and it says, May the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, be gracious unto you, and give you peace. Amen. So until next time, Mamas, just remember that God's timing is perfect even when the days seem like a blur. We'll talk again soon. Take care, mamas.