Delighting in Motherhood

The days are so full anymore.  If I'm not working, I am home.  If I am at home, I am balancing the call of motherhood with managing my home, and pursuing what God is calling me to in ministry and some days I just function.  It's not always pretty.  It's not always glorious but I stumble forward putting one foot in front of the other and I forget.  Forget to love.  Forget to enjoy.  Forget to breathe in these precious moments that God has blessed me with.  Then He asks me to stop.  To wait on Him.  To trust Him that when I rest, when I stop, when I do pause to breath in the moments that my to do list will still get done.  That He is big and He is able and He will not abandon me.  Work will still be there.  I will find time, but these precious hours when I am on the clock as "mama."  Those won't always be there.  She won't always need me quite as much, and right now when she needs me, I need to be present.  Not distant.  Not focused on something else.  

One of those moments happened last week.  I was working on cleaning up the kitchen after supper.  Dave was working that evening at his part time job, and all the sudden I heard giggles behind me as Abigail entered the kitchen.  Her big grin could have lit up a stage, and as I turned to look at her, her eyes danced and I just took her in.  There around her neck were her play necklaces from her stash of dress up clothes.  Every single one of them.  She was delighted.  I smiled and told her how pretty she looked, and paused for a moment to oohh and ahh.  I then turned around.  Proceeded to wash the dishes only to stop mere moments later.  I turned back around and I looked at her and said "Mama wants to play dress up too."   I took her tiny hand in mine and led her to our bedroom and watched her eyes light up as I handed her almost my entire stash of jewelry to try on as she wished.  I pulled out things I never wear.  Headbands, rings, necklaces, bracelets, things my grandma gave me and each one she took with pure joy.  I sat on the floor of my bedroom that night with my daughter.  My oldest daughter.  My only daughter.  My only child, and just delighted in her.  We sat there way past bedtime.  Took pictures of ourselves.  Smiled.  And laughed.  

I'm learning.  One step at a time I am learning.  Learning to balance.  Learning to laugh and love.  Learning that 40 years from now I won't for a moment regret that I stopped doing the dishes to play dress up with my little girl.  No, I am a mom, and what I do matters, and that will always come before any other job God calls me to.  

May each of you find joy even in the tiniest of moments with your children!  Do you have any fun stories to share of some of your favorite memories with your kids?  Please do, and if you can't think of one, then take a moment and really just delight in your children!  You won't regret it I promise!

I'm taking a break for the rest of the week to focus on my family and celebrate Thanksgiving with them.  I'll see you all next week!

Blessings,