This Won't Last Forever

This won't last forever...

That thought popped into my head about 90 minutes into our trip.  A trip that usually takes a little over on hour, today will take us just under 3.  Winter won't let up. 

I am the designated driver for my parents, shuttling my mom to an outpatient surgical procedure.  And we are running late.  And mom is worrying.  And letting me know she is worrying.

This won't last forever...

It will get warmer.

The snow will melt.

We will get there.

Mom will stop worrying...ok, 3 out of 4 isn't bad.

I was a teenager the first time I can remember using that phrase...

Someday I won't have to listen to my parents.

I'll get out of this town.

I will run my own life.

This won't last forever...

The baby will sleep through the night.

The baby will stop crying.

We will figure out the car seat.

We will stop feeling like idiot parents...ok, 3 out of 4 isn't bad.

You will find a new career, adventure, security...You will sleep through the night again.

You will stop feeling like a failure, like damaged goods.

Those plans God has for you haven't changed.

Neither has He.

This won't last forever...

Mark Twain once said,

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years."

The eyes of your teenager won't always roll when you say something.  

This won't last forever...

All over the place, the Bible tells us that our trials are temporary.

But so are the kind of moments they make Apple commercials about.

What are you going to do with a moment that won't last forever?  

Nothing lasts forever.

The rolling eyes of your teen will soon be rolling out into the world on their own.

Those parents who try your patience will one day be gone.

And you will someday try the patience of a once eye-rolling teen who now drives you around in the snow.

You won't stay here.

This is a tragic at times, beautiful in moments, hot mess of a circle of life.

This won't last forever.