I was recently promoted back to full time stay at home mommy-hood! Hooray, and praise the Lord. I was working part time at Starbucks, and although I love Starbucks, my friends at work, and the customers, the time at work was causing too much stress on my family. I am very thankful to be back at home with the boys, this is where I am needed the most, and this is where I feel God wants me to be.
I can’t put into words how much I love being at home with my boys. I have the freedom to pack up and head anywhere we wish. We can run errands, travel to see friends or family, or just stay in our pajamas at home all day! We have fun together, explore new places and I get to be silly and act their age. :)
While all of this is fantastic for me, I do have my moments when I am overwhelmed by the stress of constantly being ‘on-call.’ Recently, these moments have become more and more frequent and I was turning into ‘monster mommy’ more often than I’d like to admit. It seemed like there was no end to hearing my name screamed ‘MOMMY!’ over and over until I responded. There’s no privacy (what does that word mean?) and I’m lucky if I can eat half a sandwich that was originally intended for me (not someone’s picked over leftovers from lunch.) The boys are at an age now where they fight over every toy, cup of milk, slice of cheese, and even who’s turn it is to use the toilet (yes, Jase at 15 months wants to use the toilet…don’t get me started.)
Owen just finished vacation bible school last week. I was unsure whether or not he enjoyed his time there until I played the music CD that they sent home with him. I needed ‘some space’ from Owen and Jase towards the end of a particularly difficult day so I decided to play this CD for them. Music has always been a mood lifter for us, we all love to sing and dance. As soon as I pressed play and the first song began, Owen lit up and started to sing and dance. The song that played was ‘My God is Powerful.’ He was so happy and was excited to show me the dance moves that he learned at VBS. He asked me to sing and dance with him. Joy filled my heart and watching him worship renewed my spirit.
It’s funny how God uses everyone in our lives to remind us of Him, even our 4 and 1 year old kids. Owen and Jase reminded me that our lives are all about God. I have a pretty thick head and I often try to be a stay at home mom on my own, instead of asking for help from the Man upstairs. It’s so easy to bow my head and ask for help, and yet I rarely think to do it! Those few minutes of worshipping God reminded me of God’s grace for me, one of his children. God uses grace to forgive me when I turn into ‘monster mommy,’ and I need to remember that. When I was reminded of His grace for me, I felt like God was telling me to mimic His grace with my own children. God has the grace to forgive 7 or 77 times, to love unconditionally and God has the grace to give us new life through the death of his son, Jesus. While I do not have that magnitude of grace, I can have the grace to answer the same question 3,4, or even 5 times. I can have the grace to make 3 separate lunches, I can have the grace to allow my squirming 15 month old boy TRY to use the toilet, I can have the grace to walk a little slower so they can smell every.single.flower. on our walks, I can have the grace to allow them to help me with chores, and I can have the grace to read the same book 15 times in 10 minutes, and lastly, I can have the grace to love (and like!) and serve my children through the power God has given me. God will give to his children what is asked of Him. Over the past few days, I have been praying for God’s grace to be used through me with my children. And when things get a little overwhelming, I play some worship music (praise the Lord for pandora!), and sure enough, God shows up in our hearts and mends our moods. God loves, gives, encourages, teaches and has unconditional grace for His children. Let us look to Him as the ultimate parenting example.
One who loves a pure heart and speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.
Proverbs 22:11
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