I just read this great post and it made me think. And realize how often I lose sight of what I've been called to do. I'm not saying I'm a bad mother (though I felt that way when I was eating my breakfast and looked up to see Ty climbing out of his high chair and crawling over the back of it). But I'm quick to lose my temper. Or just get annoyed.
I've been reminded to show my boys that I'm totally present with them. That's really hard in an age of cell phones, tweets, and online everything. The other day when we were at a museum downtown, I went to pull out my cell phone to see if I had missed any calls while we were in the elevator and Tommy grabbed my hand and said, "Mommy, no! Please stop being on your phone!" I hadn't used my phone the whole time we were there, but it reminded me of how often I do make phone calls in the car or other "downtimes", when those are really the perfect opportunities to engage with my almost-five-year-old (that's how old he is if you ask him. He's completely stopped saying he's four).
I try to cultivate relationships with friends who don't know Christ, and I need to continue to do so, but I also need to be constantly reminded that the two people I have the most influence on, possibly ever, live in the rooms down the hall from me. And tomorrow morning they'll wake me up before I'm ready. And I need to show them the gospel.
I'm preparing the coffee pot now.
"Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."
ReplyDeleteThank you for leading me towards this thought. Still I'm wondering how people -moms- can live "just for the kids", because I need a life abroad fixing diapers and counting cars. But - Motherhood is not a hobby, I feel the same.
We're blessed!
I really liked your blog post, it does make a mother think about the technology that is constantly eroding our relationships, especially with our children! I am not necessarily a mom who believes in "me" time, my life does somewhat revolve around my children, but I know that in order to teach my children I need to be a role model, would I want my son to be on his smart phone as he wheels onto the elevator and back up to my assisted living room (in 50 years of course :)) no, definitely not! My son like yours was almost 8 all summer! I remember 5 and their was definitely a slight feeling of hardship going from that questioning 4 year old to the wise old 6 year old! Hang in there, and the awareness that you have for God and doing the right things for your kids will get you through! God Bless you and Thank you for writing this blog post!
ReplyDelete