Today, Anthony and I are thankful for the shift in priorities that comes with parenting. When we were pregnant with Max, we really could not feel this shift as much although we had already started to make changes in our house for Max's sake. Some of those changes were that we started to be more frugal in our spending, took our prayer life and time with Jesus more seriously, and really paid attention to how we were feeding our marriage on Married Mondays. We discussed at length how important it was that Max had parents who were fostering their own relationship and growing to be more respectful, more loving, and more committed to our marriage daily. We have never really had trouble with those things but it's always powerful to see how much greater your marriage can get if you press in just a little more.
I fully believe that Anthony and I have had a pretty ideal marriage over the last 5 years. We are excited to be celebrating 5 years together in August! In saying that, I think it got even better when Max got here. A lot of people warned us that children can make your marriage difficult so we prayed over that and decided to allow parenting to make our marriage even more beautiful. We prayed a lot while we were pregnant about our connection and time together, how we would prioritize our time, and making sure we still were Anthony & Erica while we were Mommy & Daddy. So far, it's been something we have been able to really keep up. One of the reasons this has worked is that Max has really changed our priorities in life. We always think about how our actions affect him. That is really powerful as a human being to consider another human being in your choices.
We know that as parents, we are the first glimpse of Jesus that our son gets. The things we do in front of him guide his faith so hugely. The way that Anthony treats Max is a factor of how he sees his heavenly father treating him. The way that I nurture him, is the way he sees God nurturing him. I want those images to be loving, caring, nurturing, supportive, and overall for his best. When those things are in the forefront of your mind, it's hard to get snippy with his daddy in front of him for fear that he won't respect his father in Heaven. It is almost impossible to lose my patience with him when I know my heavenly father doesn't lose his patience with me but continues to teach me, gently correct me, and pursue me in love. When you are thinking constantly about guiding another human toward JESUS...it really gets your priorities straight. That is my continued prayer...
Lord, let his faith walk be in the forefront of my mind as I parent, love his father, and love him!
That is what we are thankful for today! What about you?
--Anthony, Erica, & Maxwell--
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