More from Annie Riess - My Baby Leaves Home

Hello friends,

Oh, this one tugs my heart as we've once again delivered Logan to school. There he stood, with his childhood best friend, in their apartment. Taller than me. Stubbly chin. A man. No longer a boy.

And I can't understand how it happened so fast.

Annie Riess, thank you for sharing your words and wisdom this week, for taking me back to God's truth, and for reminding me of how dear each day is. 

I'm grateful.

And I'm blessed.

With love,
Shawnelle

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                                                             My Baby Leaves Home
                                                                       
                                                                           by

                                                                    Annie Riess
                                                          

My baby leaves home this year!  It's hard to believe the years have passed by so quickly! 

            It just doesn't seem like 18 years since we brought this little bundle home, following a very difficult pregnancy. 

           There had been many complications and then… He was "over baked” when he finally arrived nearly three weeks overdue – causing more complications.

            The doctor said "Truly this is a miracle baby!"   If we had lost him before he was  born,   we would have missed out on all the joy and laughter he has brought to our home.

 I recall dedicating him to God and now, as he leaves our ‘nest’ I need to pause, rededicate him, and give thanks for these years we've had together.  I realize that this difficult time of saying good-bye, could well have taken place many years ago, in a much more painful and final manner.

  

By the time he was four, he had grown into a little charmer with a great sense of humor.  He kept us all laughing.  One day our laughter turned to tears when he had a severe reaction to his routine booster shot.  He was screaming and writhing with pain because of the pressure on his brain.   As they were loading him into the ambulance, the doctor pulled me aside and said, "Mrs. Riess, you must realize that you have a gravely ill son, he may not make it." 

           Well, he did make it, and managed to live through several more very close calls. Thankfully, each time he was spared from death and today we are following the usual pathway of separation.

I thank God for the years we've had together.  So even though I am sad this part of our lives is changing forever, I am looking forward to the next chapter. We will be separated by distance, but never separated in our hearts. Yes, the years have gone by all too quickly.  I realize what the Psalmist meant when he said:  “Teach us to number our days!” (90:12)  Each day is a blessing from the Lord, to be savored and lived to the full.

 

Annie Riess farms with her husband Ken, in Saskatchewan, Canada, where she teaches piano lessons and writes freelance. She loves the Lord and has experienced many miraculous answers to prayer.

 

Annie also enjoys cooking, baking, and making cards, but most of all she savors time spent with her friends and family.