This is me and my kids on Mother's Day.I am so blessed.
I've given birth to three beautiful daughters.
And adopted two handsome sons.
Mothering is amazing, and so incredibly rewarding.
Don't get me wrong. Not all of parenthood is happy or easy. The last few days for example I've felt especially frustrated by various things. I'm tired. Kevin didn't get home from work until after 7 pm, and sweet man that he is he made the kids dinner. Truth be told I always feel a bit defeated at the end of a day like today. Not much was accomplished. Assorted kid issues. Including a pair of broken eye-glasses. Bad attitudes all the way around. (Yes including, or especially, mine.) ADHD stuff...potentially a series of blogposts all its own.
Somehow I know it's all part of the deal. God isn't content to leave me the way I am. He wants to build my character and that involves sacrifice. It HAS to. But, it's not always fun. And I don't mean crazy hard "my life is so tough" sacrifice, because I have it really, really good. I just mean the sacrifice found in the daily grind of meal prep, sweeping, discipline, nighttime feedings. Parenting a child with ADHD.
At heart I'm basically an optimist. Even when I want to crawl into a hole and take a long nap and not wake up until everyone can tie their own shoes and get their own lunch, I know I am blessed beyond measure. I love being a mama to these five little ones.
And I have to tell you that my not-so-great day ended with a pretty great night. After the kids finished dinner I got them all bathed, had some great, positive interaction with each of them, and they tidied up their rooms. I was able to get a bunch of dishes done, Kevin cleaned up dinner...then we capped off the night with Seinfeld and ice cream. I love that God can redeem a stressful day with just a few hours of joy and love. My kids went to bed with happy hearts, and now I will, too.
To be a mom is to live with this tension that is the mess of every day life. So I'll choose to look forward to tomorrow and whatever redemptive miracles God may bring amidst sibling squabbles, lost toys, and spilled milk.
5 comments:
amen. the sacrifice for the "little" things every day does get wearing. a constant reminder of how helpless we are without Him. thanks for sharing and i pray that today is free of spilled milk :)
I wrote a very similar post on May 26, as well! Being a mom is a labor of love.
Wow, you have a lot of kids, you must have your hands full. Do you drive a Ford 15 passenger van or something?
Andy HA!!!!
You must have your hands full, too. And your girls aren't twins. :)
Well said. Is there some kind of revolt going on with all of our Littles? Seems like we're all being tested to the core right now. Spring Fever, go away!
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