Laugh. Dream. Grow.

With the birth of my youngest child on the way almost 5 years ago, my oldest daughter and I did a project together to decorate the nursery. We went to our favorite ceramics store and picked out three tiles to paint and decorate. Each tile was to have one word on it; a word that was meant to be a blessing for this new one's life. We pondered it for a while and finally choose these three: laugh, dream, grow.

Laugh. Laughter. Oh,  I love to laugh. It's one of life's simple joys.  It can quickly ease a tense moment. Soothe a restless mind. Calm a weary spirit and bring tears (of happiness) to the one who needs it. It's the antithesis of a frown or scowl and the medicine to cure almost anything.  "Laughter is the best medicine" after all. I hoped that my soon-to-be born youngest child would be blessed with laughter. And now, close to 5 years later, I can easily tell you that she has brought much laughter to our household and enjoys to laugh herself.

Dream. I am a dreamer. It's easy for me to dream; have hopes, desires. Without hope there is despair and without dreams there is a life less colorful, I believe. Google the words "live without dreams" and you will have an onslaught of anything from quotes from Martin Luther King to any and everyone's blog (now including this one!).  We are designed to dream.  Dreaming is the process in which we live out our lives. Maybe that sounds too grand or philosophical or just plain wish-wash, but a life that is deep and rich will have dreams in it. Dare to dream was my wish for this child.

Grow. This one is more literal--grow physically, grow mentally, and grow spiritually.  All of those can be gauged in one fashion or another.  And each of them she has a direct hand in. It has been my experience that growth usually comes in hindsight or the revelation of growth does.  Often we are too close to see it; it happens so slowly that one does not fully recognize it 'til time has past and some form of measurement shows that there's been "growth".  For me, this may come through my relationships with others, too. Again, it's that too close to see it theory.  I'm thankful for those close to me who help me see that growth.  As my youngest daughter grows, it is my desire to give her those tools to help her grow.  Remember: Growth doesn't have an expiration date!



~Reggie