Sometimes the IDEA of summer is much more beautiful than the reality of summer. I dreamt of creating special memories with my children that would last a lifetime. I wanted the late night swims, the campfires with smores , the adventures of trying new things, and the spontaneous trips as a family. I’ve always strived for my kids to love summer and remember it as a special time.

Summer may be really fun for few fleeting days but and then it passes. The truth is the more I strive for the ‘perfect summer memories’ for my children the more entitled their attitude becomes. The more fun activities I plan, the more they expect that to be the norm and complain when we don’t have those fun-filled pack days. I vividly remember one summer morning, and hearing the kids ask with a mopey attitude asking “So what fun activity do YOU have planned for us today?”

The more I centered activities around entertaining our children, the more entitled and less grateful they became. Oh how heartbreaking it was to come that realization! It took me a few years to really figure out that summer is not all about creating a permanent level of fun for my little ones. How I had fallen into the trap of comparison with people around me and the picture perfect summers social media showed me daily. I wanted all those things for my kids. I pursued after them for years.

Overtime I began to see summer for what it really was- an abundant time with my kids to love them well, teach, instruct, and guide them into young adults. I stopped planning activities solely around their fun, because they were getting the message that this world was all about them and their pleasure. We learned more about family responsibilities and new chores. They whined and complained, and at times it wasn’t easy or fun! But they slowly got some of it overtime.

We learned to think about others more and I begin to intentionally set time apart to be still. Those quiet days when we weren’t rushing off somewhere, we learned that it was ok just to be with just family and have fun with each other. It was uncomfortable at times and it didn’t come naturally to me- but those quiet days of just ‘us’ were some of the richest and most memorable memories I made with my kids this last summer.

Now don’t get me wrong- summer is a great opportunity to make some fun memories with loved ones. But I can’t focus most of my time and energy in the pursuit of my kids temporary happiness or pleasure. I’ve found it to be exhausting, unfulfilling, and it quickly leads them to have more self-centered attitudes. My job as a mom is to raise and instruct these kids to pursue after Jesus whole heartedly. My energy and time is to be spent seeking after God first and the rest of life will fall into place.

How does being a mom, especially over the summer with all the pressure to have the perfect summer, connect back to living a gospel-centered life in Jesus? Should my life as a believer look different than the world? And what does it look like to put Jesus first above all else? Answering these questions could take up another post entirely! But as I was writing, Mathew 6 came to mind.

Christ reminds me in this passage not to live in worry. To remember that God sees us right where we are and what our needs look like. He asks that we seek (pursue, look for) Him and His kingdom first and He promises to provide for all that we need. We seek him first and he will lead us in raising our children with wisdom, grace, and love.

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
For the pagans strive after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.” -Mathew 6:32-34

Carolina Briggs

Lives in Valrico, Florida with her husband Steve and is a mama to four children- Andrew (in heaven), Jack (8), Palmer(6) and Lillian (2) . She enjoys blogging, spending time with her family, and sharing the story Jesus is writing out in her life. Carolina is connected to the original Agape Moms in Lithia, FL.

In Search of the Perfect Summer