Traveling with kids

Tanggal 20-23 June 2010 yang lalu, saya diberikan kesempatan untuk pergi berlibur bersama keluarga. Unlike the previous holidays when grandma, grandpa and auntie always came with us, this time, it was just the 4 of us: me, my hubby, and our two kids (a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl).

We had imagined how busy we would be during the holiday, but yea.. we were willing to take the risk anyway.. *wink*.

I won't tell you about the holiday details... since it could be a 'kesenjangan sosial' for some.. Hehe.. But I learnt some things during this holiday.. and it reminded me of God's love for us. Here they are..

1. As a parent, I have to ensure that my kids eat properly.

Before breakfast, lunch and dinner, I always have to think about what my kids gonna eat.. what kind of food they like. After I bought all the food, my hubby and I have to feed them... and we're very disappointed when they didn't finish their food.

Our God, which we call Him 'Father' .. also do the same thing for us. He provides food for us every day. As you may have read in Psalm 23, He brought us to green pastures and stream of water. The food is already there. It's up to us whether we want to eat it or not. When we are a newborn Christian, may be God feeds us as well, through friends, or church leaders around us. But as we grow, we have to learn to eat by ourselves. God knows that we will like the food that He has provided (ie. God's word : the Bible), but sometimes.. we don't want to eat the food for some reasons.. and you know what, sebenernya kalo kita nggak makan, yang rugi adalah kita sendiri. Kita nggak bisa bertumbuh dengan baik, mungkin saja bisa sakit... tetapi Tuhan nggak rugi apa-apa. He may be disappointed... tetapi kita yang tanggung akibatnya.

2. The kids must sleep properly

Besides eating, another way to gain energy is by having enough rest. Yea I know.. some of my fellas have been so 'rewel' by advising me to sleep earlier. *peace* .. Thanks fellas! I'll try to sleep earlier ^^ ..

Back to the topic. I have to make sure that my kids have enough sleep. There was one night when my son couldn't sleep well.. because he was too excited to ride on the train, while in the afternoon, the train was not running. He might be thinking about it the whole day long, he couldn't sleep properly because he really wanted to ride on the train! He slept at around 1am and woke up at 5am. -.-"

Our Father really concerns about our 'resting-time' too. After all those busy times, either it is for ministry or work, we all need our rest. Even He, Himself said "I will GIVE you rest." ... and the most wonderful time for resting is.. in His presence.. when we come to Him, talk with Him and spend hours with Him.. This is something that we occasionally forget. We are too busy with our ministry, our job, our family, our children.. we forget to take our rest, and visit our pit stop, which is God alone.

As a human being, after my kids fell asleep at night, I went to sleep also... But not God. He never sleeps, He never slumbers. He's watching us day and night.. Whenever you feel like resting, just come to Him... and He will give you rest.. How wonderful it is!

3. I have to watch my kids wherever they go, and make sure that they are with us.

Okay, we had an incident a year ago, my son was left on the elevator alone... Won't talk much about this, but God is good.. we managed to find him.. and it taught us a special lesson.. Always hold your child's hands wherever you go.

My kids love running here and there, and are easily distracted by anything they find interesting (toys for example). Sometimes they hold our hands, sometimes they don't. When they don't, we have to be extra cautious. Looking around, calling their names just to make sure they're nearby and following us.

Some of you might know where this is going... That's what our Father God do! He wants us to be close to Him always. When we let go of our hands, we're never out of His sight. He calls us over and over again, watches over us, and makes sure that we are not far from Him. But what often happens is, we are the one who's running away from Him.. and we blame Him for not being close to us, and we'll ask "Where are You, God?? Where are You?? I can't see You! Why do you leave me alone like this??" .. OK. If I were God, I might just answered.. "it's your own fault! You're the one who's running away from me!" ... But our God is a God of love. There's a song that says.. "He's only a prayer away" .. Which means.. He's very close to us. We just need to look up, and we'll find that He's with us all those times.

Just an illustration:

My eldest son is about my waist's height. So, in a normal head position.. all that he can see is my waist and below. He might just bump to another person, and think that he/she is his dad/mom.. but when he looks up and see that person's face, then he will realize that he/she is not his dad/mom.

Our God is big. When we are lost, we probably act like my son.. We look around with our normal 'head position' and try to find God, but we can't find Him. That's why I said before.. we need to look up, then we'll see that He's never far away from us.

Those are the three things I've learnt so far.. will update this blog again soon :)