Motherhood

Generally, my idea of a great start to the day is lingering in bed for a few extra minutes and having all my people climb in for snuggles. Yet, today, on THE DAY for pampering Mama I woke a few minutes before everyone else. I thought about pulling the covers up over my head and waiting for my people to wake up and 'honor me.' Instead, I decided to get up and tiptoe down to the kitchen for a cup of coffee in the quiet. That moment made all the difference in my perspective of today.

As I walked through my quiet house, picking up an errant dirty sock and putting away recent drawings declaring their affection I thought: It really is my JOY and my HONOR to be their Mom. I don't want today to just be about them serving me...Lord, help me hold in my heart this realization that it is my blessing and privilege to be a Mama.

I have my dream job. It has exceeded my every expectation. My life is rich and my heart is full.

It has its downsides. I am always on duty. My heart is on the line. Human lives are at stake. It gets messy, emotional, exhausting and frustrating. More often than not, my needs/desires have to be put in 2nd (3rd, 4th, 5th...) place. My 'fine things' are at risk of being broken by a clumsy child. My clothes get stained. My ego gets bruised. My pride is constantly being swallowed. My heart gets hurt. My patience are tried. My nerves are frazzled. My decisions are questioned.

And, yet, I feel more fulfilled, more challenged, more loved and more at home than I have in my life.

"Christian parenting is truly a sacred journey. It invites us parents to purify ourselves, to use the process of raising kids to perfect holiness, and to do this consistently, every day, out of reverence for God."

"In the good and the bad they (our children) mold our hearts, shape our souls, and invite us to experience God in newer and deeper ways." Gary Thomas, Sacred Parenting

As I mother, I am changed. My children are growing up and I am growing in Him.

Perhaps I am more appreciative of this privilege because there was a period in my life where it felt like it might never happen. Or maybe it is because I know I could have missed all this had my heart not been healed. Or maybe this perspective is simply the result of God revealing Himself so often through my journey as a sinner trying to be my best for my children.

Regardless of its root cause, the result is the same. The calendar says Mother's Day, but my heart feels like it is Thanksgiving.I am a blessed and exceedingly grateful woman.