Now... you might have found that you needed to reread the title of my entry before going on... and you may be furrowing your brow trying to figure out what I might be getting at OR you might be a little bit like me and you are nodding assent b/c you know JUST what I mean!
I have had a little unwritten/unspoken family tradition for the past... um... well, 14 years, I guess! Every year, I look foward to Mother's Day as a day when the world will stand still and my children will rise up and call me blessed and I will have to do no housework and the sun will shine upon my face and the road will rise up to meet me along flower-strewn paths!
First of all... none of this is remotely realistic and even if it were it is even less Biblical.
Then, when I have decided how my day should be and how my family should act... I dwell on how far they fall and sink into self-pity. I cannot receive the blessings they bestow because they are NOT what I had anticipated for myself. I cannot feel joy and hope and contentment in this state, instead I feel like I have failed in training my children b/c they do not worship me. Family and personal joy stand at risk of becoming my idols. I become petulantly self-indulgent. I want to be released from my purpose as a woman and wife... and I want everyone to tell me how dear I am to them.
How is this acceptable?
Well, it is not! God never created a festival of mom worship... I am not saying it is wrong to honor mothers and the God-ordained gift of motherhood, but I AM suggesting that we.... or at least I.... run the risk of turning it into something it most definitely ought not to be.
Every day I am created to be a nurturer, a helper, a joyful mother of children, a wife, a daughter, a friend... I was never called to bless myself and wrap myself up in the small package of ME.
But when I would dream of how I ought to be treated... I elevated my own status upon the throne of my heart and booted out the GOD of all creation who alone should reign there.
Then, when a sticky fingered, grubby cheeked, mischeivous, rumple-haired child hands me a cut out heart and a dandelion I fail to see it as the beautiful treasure that it truly is b/c it is not the lazy Sunday afternoon I had envisioned... instead I see the bath that will need to take place, the mud little shoes have tracked in (as I am tripping over said little shoes in the middle of the floor) and I am shaking my head in dismay at the scraps of paper remaining from the impromptu art project that have fallen all over the floor and have stuck to the spilled breakfast under the kitchen table.
Don't be like me.... don't ruin your own mother's day or any other day with visions of your own splendor... instead, have a heart full of praise and joy and contentment as you glorify your Heavenly Father and marvel in the gift of parenthood!
Below is the description by the writer and the lyrics to a wonderful song by Pearl Barrett that is on my favorite CD "Peace All Over Me". Might want to have your tissues ready...
AND A TRULY JOYFUL MOTHER'S DAY to ALL of you!
MY HEART IS FULL
Nothing seemed to be going right on the day this song was written. I was newly pregnant with my third child, and not feeling very lively. I looked around my tiny home. Not one thing was in its proper place. It was a disaster area, and my two children matched the mess. Grubby from head to foot, they seemed to make more mess with every passing second.
Feelings of self-pity welled within me. Surely I deserved better than this! I deserved a bigger house. I deserved to be able to afford to hire someone to come and clean up for me. I was certain of that. Where was the new baby going to fit? I had no clue. As I dwelt on my situation, I started to feel so sorry for myself that I actually started crying for poor me. That is, until my little ten-month-old boy, crawled over to me, gave me the biggest hug with his grubby arms, and smiled dotingly up at me.
At that moment, it occurred to me that I was the most blessed woman in the world. I had two beautiful children, a loving husband, and now God had rewarded me with another life growing within me. Thinking about all the blessings in my life, filled me with great joy. The words to this song flowed out.
I’ll add that I’m now expecting my fourth child and we are still living in that same small house. God has taught me to be grateful for it. The three children have managed to fit in perfectly and I know I’ll be able to find a corner somewhere for the next one.
Pearl Barrett
MY HEART IS FULL
Little arms reaching for me,
Grubby fingers touch my face
And love is what I feel.
Little eyes looking at me,
Chubby cheeks burst with smiles
And joy is what I know,
Peeking in while they sleep at night,
I thank God for the gift of life,
I thank God for more than I deserve.
CHORUS:
My heart is full, my heart is full,
Why would I want for more
When my cup overflows?
My heart is full, my heart is full,
This much I know.
Strong arms reaching for me
Circle my waist for the millionth time
And love is what I feel.
Strong voice talking to me,
Whispering dreams and sharing hopes
And joy is what I know.
Sometimes I watch him sleep at night,
I thank God that I am his wife,
I thank God for more than I deserve.
CHORUS.
Sometimes when discontent creeps into my soul
A still small voice reminds me of the ones my
arms can hold.
CHORUS.
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