• Start Here
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Table
    • Together at the Table
    • Food and Such
      • Beverages
      • Bread
      • Breakfast
      • Main Dishes
      • Vegetables & Sides
      • Soups
      • Desserts
  • Writing
    • On Family
  • Happy Designs
  • Connect
    • For You
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

Fleeting

March 26, 2014 by HappyGoStuckey 8 Comments

It really does not take a genius to recognize how brief life is. But, it might just take a mother.

From the brief night’s rest we get to the amount of time it takes for a piping hot cup of coffee to grow cold before we take a third sip and then microwave it yet again– time is moving rapidly.

We see it so clearly in their clothes. Pants that swallowed them in August by early March are capri length and bordering on too tight. The bathing suits they wore last summer which still carry the scent of salt water and fresh air– will lay in the hand me down box until several summers have passed and they are needed again. Seems like a long time from now. Can’t imagine them that grown. Except that the dress little sister wears today.. quite certainly just graced the older one’s 2 year old frame… except now she’s almost five and writes her own name. I struggle to get the winter things ready to come out of their closets… and yet I feel as though I just put them in. But they have been worn. Worn well and kept little arms and legs toasty warm through many a cool day. And now it’s time to pack them up… I remove each shirt, each pair of pants and I wonder… how many times was this worn over the past several months? I wonder if they had fun while wearing them. More importantly, did they notice ME having fun WITH them then? Was I chasing them through the leaves and over the bare grassless yard– or was I watching the clock and wondering if we had stayed outside long enough, because well it’s almost time to get dinner started. 

And the shoes, Oh the shoes! Two little girls sure go through a pile of shoes at an alarming rate. Their little feet which have almost too much room in a pair of boots can barely squeeze in one for more day of cool weather. I’m not nearly as concerned about the affect of all this change on our bank account as I am its affect on my heart. Oh, some days this mama’s heart wants so badly to keep them little. I want them to always be small enough to fit completely in my lap.. but already her legs grow long and lanky and almost touch the floor. I want to always be able to stick my head around the corner and see them rolling around and “dog-piling” each other and collapsing into contagious giggles… (until somebody accidentally pulls someone else’s hair– then it’s ON.) I want to remember what their little hands feel like in mine… soft and sweet and pink. It was my own mother who caused me to stop and realize how perfectly sweet their little hands still were. She made a comment about how my own hands were just that way (like five minutes ago)  and it struck me– she knows. She knows the joy (and pain) of watching the minutes fly around the clock as you fold up too- little dresses that you swore you bought plenty roomy enough.

Sometimes I’m caught off guard by the rapid pace their little-ness is flying by and I feel it.

That feeling. You know the one, you get a lump in your throat.. a little extra moisture on your palms and you…panic. Maybe just a little– but it’s still anxiety. Worry if you’re doing enough. Are they learning to love God? Do they even REALLY know that I love them? Do they see me reading God’s Word half as much as they catch me reading my twitter feed?

I realize sometimes in the quiet hours of the evening. Hours of reflection, exhaustion, exhaling and regret, maybe? Just a little? A smidge of regret that maybe I spent too much time today on things that  didn’t communicate that they are a precious priority. Sometimes it causes me to tip-toe into their rooms, stand by their beds– watch their little chests move up and down for a minute or two. Search their enchanting faces for traces of my tiny babies. Sometimes I find them quickly. Other times I have to search and then I see them. Not so much signs of yesterday but glimpses of tomorrow– when they will be just a tad bit older.

But God is so gracious. And He gives us an entire day at a time. What a gift! And what a responsibility. And a day is both never enough and always just the right amount of time. Time to love them. Time to tell them HE loves them. Time to for goodness sake- teach them to LOVE others. Time to take time looking into their eyes. Listening to their stories. Sitting in the middle of a kitchen floor that desperately needs to be swept just because I know they will both come running and plant their little selves on my lap. If only for a moment. For that moment (and for this one) I am happy to sit amongst the crumbs and be close enough to see the sparkle in their eyes. To read that book even though it’s the long one. To pack up those winter clothes and thank HIM for every day we have had one another. After all, we only get today. And hopefully, tomorrow.

_MG_6723 Scanned Pictures 063 Scanned Pictures 072

The birthday girl examining the treats
The birthday girl examining the treats
!st Day of Pre-K!
!st Day of Pre-K!

_MG_6423

The JOY of being known (FMF)
Small & Mighty (FMF)

Comments

  1. ravishreminiscence says

    March 26, 2014 at 10:27 am

    Your family is just adorable 🙂 what camera did you use to capture those photos? It looks amazing!

    Ravish Reminiscence

    Reply
  2. rachelinraleigh says

    March 26, 2014 at 11:06 am

    yes… love it… and that your girls and my little men would know Christ so we can all share eternity together, uninterrupted by, well, anything… 🙂

    Reply
    • happygostuckey says

      March 26, 2014 at 2:37 pm

      AMEN!

      Reply
  3. Courtney Sexton says

    March 26, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    Beautiful words. Really touched my heart.

    I love you… and them.

    Thanks for sharing the perspective.

    Reply
    • happygostuckey says

      March 27, 2014 at 1:31 pm

      Thank you dear! i know you already have seen this in how fast these few months have flown by!

      Reply
  4. Mom- Linda Blythe says

    March 27, 2014 at 12:19 pm

    Cindy- Words fail to express how your words touch my heart- except to say I do know, and remember, and treasure those moments with you as well. And I must say that even though you are now the young mother; I never get enough of spending a day with you and looking into your sparkling brown eyes and watching your life unfold. Eternity – without a stopwatch or a second hand – is a beautiful promise from the ONE Who gives all good gifts. I love you.

    Reply
    • happygostuckey says

      March 27, 2014 at 1:32 pm

      Thank you Mom. Love you. See you soon!

      Reply
  5. Chip says

    March 27, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    Well, well written Cindy. I can’t help but feel sad for the majority of those out there that don’t know true love and joy, and how every minute is a gift from Him. I’m so proud of you and your little family. You’re doing it right.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe and receive a Free copy of “Simmer: Six soup recipes and the Stories that Inspired Them.”

Your personal information is safe and will never be shared.

Hey There!

I'm Cynthia and I'm so glad you're here. I am an introvert with an extrovert's love of gathering people together. I love good books and capturing moments. Whether you visit me here or on my own front porch, I'll be the one holding the Iced Coffee for us both.

Instagram

happygostuckey

Throwing it back but not way back: remember last y Throwing it back but not way back: remember last year when we *discovered* the whipped, frothy, goodness of Dalgona Coffee?

I made it again today for the express purpose of seeing if it would still work with less sugar and I rather like my lightened up version!

(Tip: in my opinion, it makes enough for two— especially because I use instant espresso— so it’s pretty strong! Not warm where you are yet?  Tap the little flag to save this post for later.)

✨Whipped Coffee✨ 
2 TBS. instant espresso
2 TBS. cold water
1 TBS. maple syrup or simple syrup
1-2 glasses of ice and milk

Whip/ Beat the espresso, syrup, and water with an electric beater, immersion blender, or hand-held milk frother until frothy and light in color. Scoop over the milk and ice and enjoy!
🪡Do I seamstressed to you?🪡 Really though, 🪡Do I seamstressed to you?🪡 

Really though, after completing my first embroidery project, I feel like it might just be the cheapest, prettiest, stress relief out there. I am officially a believer in relaxing this way. And PS, if I can do it, you can.

Thank you, @thebarmyfox for bringing this lovely art into my life!
Joy is the courage of people who don’t have all Joy is the courage of people who don’t have all the answers, yet.

While you sit in a season of waiting,
the calendar can often be a cruel companion, reminding you that days go by, weeks, months— with what feels like very little change in the right direction.

Perhaps you can easily assent to: 
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but you strain to see just how it will be when: “...a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)

Wherever you and I are today— whether we wander, wait, stand firmly planted, or some pressed together combination of all three — we can take heart.

We are not alone.
And this will not be wasted.
What seems to be an unending blank space, an indefinite pause, is a space for new things.

Long before all is made right, and whether or not it all is tied up neatly with a perfectly crafted bow— we can know this:

We do not have to know the outcome to be faithful today.

✨Joy is not disregard for reality as much as it is obstinacy against despair.✨
Hi 👋🏻 I’m Cynthia and I’m a bit weary. T Hi 👋🏻 I’m Cynthia and I’m a bit weary. There. I said it. These days I’m gravitating to the true & the beautiful as rest for my weary self... and I wonder if you are too.

So much so, that I’m starting a new little offering, it’s called “The Feast: Wonder for the Weary” and the first issue goes out this weekend. It’s a bit more personal (okay this first one is WAY more personal. 🤭) It will be a little bit of everything, all with the goal of offering REST to both the feasters & foragers alike. If you’re already a subscriber— no need to do anything, if not— click through my bio to “keep in touch” and join the feast.✨
We are a people of both lament and praise. We hol We are a people of both lament and praise.

We hold questions without answers— yet we hold them in hands already full of good things.

We hold our daily bread, our daily gifts, and we hold the daily closeness of the God Who Sees.

The God who is no stranger to our lament, and Who Is the reason for our every hope.
He does not grow weary of our asking. Of our need to be told again, He will. 

You friend, are not invisible.
You are seen and cared for by the God who does all things well. (Even when they feel anything but.)
Married love ambition: making the kids roll their Married love ambition: making the kids roll their eyes at our “gushy-ness” as often as possible. 

President & CEO of the Lance Stuckey Fan Club— in every season, but especially on days like today.
Rainy day Mocha date, courtesy of our own toasty k Rainy day Mocha date, courtesy of our own toasty kitchen.😍🌧📚

On this chilly Saturday, we spent entirely too long browsing for books at our library and then all came home to a fire, mochas, and cocoa, respectively. Of all the things we do not know at this very moment, we know the gifts abound, and are worth counting.

PS, if you haven’t spread whipped cream on a foil-lined baking sheet to freeze, and then cut out cute shapes with cookie cutters to top your coffee or hot cocoa, may I suggest you get thee on that at once.
“If God sends us on strong paths, we are provide “If God sends us on strong paths, we are provided strong shoes.” — Corrie Ten Boom

✨File under, things to save in a fire.✨

The prayer journal pictured here contains six months of the hard & the sweet.
Six months of prayers asked & answered for ourselves and for others.
Six months of seeing through prayer, not how it changed our circumstances necessarily but how it changed us.

I always appreciate a record like this— being able to clearly see the paths we are led down, rocky though they may be? Priceless.

The ways God has come near us & drawn us to Himself again and again are written on these pages and I’ll treasure it forever.

Also pictured: Psalms Illuminated Scripture Journal. Highly recommend. Thank you always, @allifarnell
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it th “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

While scrolling through my photos today, my heart was heavy to realize how far back “before” was.

Before masks and distancing, before loss, before other, more personal bits of hard. Multitudinous change, neither all bad nor all good.

With our free time, we’ve introduced our girls to Tolkien, Bilbo, Frodo, and especially Samwise the Brave. They are officially hooked and we are delighted to watch them discover another world where evil doesn’t win, and the courage of the small matters much. {they close their eyes at the Orcs and we haven’t had a nightmare yet!}🤞🏻😂😬
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Categories

Featured Posts

On Waiting & Moving

(And a Recipe for Italian Tortellini Soup) Later this month, our family will celebrate the 10th … [ Read More ]

Five Good Things

Hi. How are you, really? If you're anything like me-- you have moments of complete gratefulness for … [ Read More ]

Winter Favorites

(and why it matters to pay attention to the little things.) "For you are the sunshine-maker in … [ Read More ]

Loving Lately in November

"...all creation's revealing his majesty. We're invited to join with all nature in manifold witness … [ Read More ]

Feasting & Foraging (free for the weekend!) 🍊🌿

I wrote a book, called Feasting & Foraging, and I would like to tell you why. About a year … [ Read More ]

Miss Something?

Please be kind and give proper credit if you share! © Cynthia M. Stuckey. For personal use only, not to be copied, distributed, altered or sold.

Privacy Policy

Full privacy policy may be found HERE.

Want each post to magically appear in your email box?

Your personal information is safe and will never be shared.

Cynthia@happygostuckey.com
xo Cynthia
  • Start Here
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Table
  • Writing
  • Happy Designs
  • Connect

© 2021 · Pretty Creative WordPress Theme by, Pretty Darn Cute Design