Our four children are home on a long holiday until next year. They are so excited that they get to sleep in, wear home clothes, play outside, visit their relatives and friends. We used to think that in their little world those are the things that really matter… Apparently there’s more.

Our children are home to refill their emotional tanks. The fast school term coupled with the challenges they had to surmount, left them feeling drained and tired. They had questions but no time to ask. The school nights were short and the mornings rushed. The weekends ended as soon as they began…These little ones are tired; physically and emotionally. They are spent from trying to keep up with their peers, their papers and their performance. They need to replenish.

Home is that place where our children come to refresh, restock, and restart. God made it in such a way that there is an adult or two who are fully in charge of a few children everyday. Some have only one, some two, most have three, and others, like us, have four. So the price we must pay this holiday is ATTENTION. This we cannot delegate to the gadgets or screens, the ‘never-tired’ nanny, or our relatives.

Let us give our children priority everyday. Let’s dedicate some time to play or take a walk with them. Let’s have deep uninterrupted conversations with them. Let us do those house chores with them and help them to belong.

Can God use us to fill their cups? Absolutely.