We have been experiencing the dating spectrum in our home this week, along with all the subsequent emotions that accompany such associations with the opposite sex.
My youngest son announced to me the other day that he had asked a girl out on a date. His first date. This was planned in conjunction with some of his siblings, but it was definitely news to me. I remember a discussion I had with a friend exactly a year ago. She has a son who is about 8 months older than my son and I was questioning her about him driving and also dating. I told her I could picture my son driving a car much easier than I could imagine him being mature enough to actually go on a date. I still feel the same way today. I have accepted the fact that this son can drive, although I am still not convinced that he is actually ready for his real driver's license. However, this whole going out with a girl is a lot harder for me to comprehend. As this child's mother, I have seen him at his silliest, and I question what girl would consider him dating material. (Actually, he has some very mature, quite adorable moments, and I'm sure this is the side he reveals to the young ladies.) It's just hard for me to realize that my small one is growing up and moving on. Tonight was the date which included a visit to an elementary school carnival and feeding the ducks and playing on the playground at the local park (appropriately chauffeured and chaperoned by his sister) and apparently it was a good one, at least in my son's opinion.
On the same day that I received the first date announcement, I also began to realize that all was not well in my oldest son's dating life. While son #2 was experiencing the positive, hopeful side of dating, the other son was experiencing the extreme opposite. The girlfriend/roommate had decided that things weren't going where she believed they were meant to be going and had announced that she no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him. This has been a very challenging experience for him and one that he has to work through for himself. It is hard for me to watch him go through all that this entails.
I sometimes think that it is truly amazing that so many of us are able to find our future life partner through this challenging, frightening, exciting experience that we call dating. It often seems like the person that we can imagine spending eternity with is busy imagining spending it with someone else. Dating is hard work. It isn't easy. Dating is sometimes full of the highest highs and sometimes it brings with it the lowest lows. It is scary to open ourselves up to the possibility of being hurt or rejected. It definitely requires stepping outside of our comfort zone, and sometimes it doesn't turn out the way that we hope that it will (and then sometimes it does). However, I do know that dating is part of Heavenly Father's plan for us and that regardless of what happens he knows what that plan is. The important thing is to make sure that we have faith in Him and trust in His love for us, knowing that he will support us and uplift us through whatever experiences come our way.
I love you, my boys, and look forward to seeing both of you married in the temple to a special girl when the time is right in Heavenly Father's plan for you. Stay close to Him so you will be ready when that time comes.
Today I am grateful for
the comfort of knowing that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of His children.
Children that support each other.
things I accomplish, even if they're tiny.
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