10 "S" 6 minutes and 49 seconds.

2 songs. 6 minutes and 49 seconds.

The amount of time it took to soften a boy's heart.
The amount of time it took to remind a mommy of what is important.
The amount of time that grows parenting from a have to an "I get to".

Tonight when I went to tuck in I knew Aidan was super bummed that he got no "freetime" at home. We walked in the door at 8 tonight for the first time all day and the boys still had homework to do. Aidan finished and had to go right to bed and I saw it. I totally saw hardened heart as he sat in his bed ready to get tucked in. And so I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and I told him I had something for him and I put on the song "Awesome God" because he always wants me to sing that song to him and I feel like I am always screwing up the words. So I played it and sand along and rubbed his back (his favorite). No words were exchanged, they didn't need to be. The song ended and he quietly whispered, "can you rub my back a little more?". So I let Rich play on and as the next song filled his bed with calmness I knew. I knew that taking time to invest these few minutes makes all the difference between a boy that knows I care and a boy that just gets rushed to bed because it is past his bedtime. We listened together. We prayed. And that boy had a changed heart in that time. I knew it and I smiled.

What else do I need to invest 6 minutes and 49 seconds in to make all the difference in the world?