Spring and new seasons
As my wonderful husband turns 40 and my oldest 'child' turns 15, I have had a chance to just slow down and think a few things through. We live such an amazing life! It is easy to get focused in on the day-to-day drudgery and forget how beautiful a family can be, and I praise God for the reminders that He gives me that we are so blessed!
Even after the toddler years, when you're striving to be the kind of wife and mother God outlines in Scripture, you find that you don't have tons of time to yourself. "Girl time" becomes a distant dream and you settle down into the trenches. The toddler years are hard, but nothing swift, firm, loving discipline can't handle. The preteen years are tough, and require lots of heart training for mom and kids. There is no greater mirror of yourself than how your children treat each other. God really had me change ME first, and then my kids started coming around. When they get older, there are even more things to discuss 'as you walk, as you sit, and as you eat.' (Deuteronomy)
It's never over! There hasn't been a day yet, and mine are 10, 12, and 15 (nearly) that I've thought, "Okay, NOW I can relax." No, just the opposite. I feel even more strongly that they need me more than ever. That's not to say we don't have the occasional date night, but I don't generally go out with the girls. Family is first and they need to not only hear me say it, but see me walk it. When my kids see that I turned down a movie out with the girls to stay home cuddled on the couch with them and their Dad, the know where my heart resides and it makes them feel loved.
I know that respite is coming. When my children leave the home and I have a few years before grandbabies start rolling in, I'll recharge, and then I'll be the best Gran-T ever. :) Right now, though, and for the next 10 years (or so), my job is here, now, molding and shaping hearts, including my own. When I need a temporary recharging, I find it right inside myself, because that is where the Spirit of God lives. When I cry out for wisdom and mercy, I always feel refreshed. Sometimes we forget to just ask, but He is able to do abundantly more than we can dream up if we only ask! When I am low, He sends Chloe with her latest joke and that girl is hysterical! When I am tired, Caylea says, "Mom, I want to try a new hairstyle on you. Can I play with your hair?" Then she plays with my hair for a good hour. When I am missing Joe (when he is gone for any length), my son randomly comes up, hugs me, and says, "Mommy, I love you." God is all over every single one of those circumstances and my job is to receive that refreshing in that form. When I learned to receive it in a way that wasn't necessarily conventional (i.e., massage, facial, time away), I became a more spiritually joyful woman and it affected my entire family.
I encourage you, encourage you, encourage you, to do the same! Minister to your family first, others second. Best of all, be joyful!
Even after the toddler years, when you're striving to be the kind of wife and mother God outlines in Scripture, you find that you don't have tons of time to yourself. "Girl time" becomes a distant dream and you settle down into the trenches. The toddler years are hard, but nothing swift, firm, loving discipline can't handle. The preteen years are tough, and require lots of heart training for mom and kids. There is no greater mirror of yourself than how your children treat each other. God really had me change ME first, and then my kids started coming around. When they get older, there are even more things to discuss 'as you walk, as you sit, and as you eat.' (Deuteronomy)
It's never over! There hasn't been a day yet, and mine are 10, 12, and 15 (nearly) that I've thought, "Okay, NOW I can relax." No, just the opposite. I feel even more strongly that they need me more than ever. That's not to say we don't have the occasional date night, but I don't generally go out with the girls. Family is first and they need to not only hear me say it, but see me walk it. When my kids see that I turned down a movie out with the girls to stay home cuddled on the couch with them and their Dad, the know where my heart resides and it makes them feel loved.
I know that respite is coming. When my children leave the home and I have a few years before grandbabies start rolling in, I'll recharge, and then I'll be the best Gran-T ever. :) Right now, though, and for the next 10 years (or so), my job is here, now, molding and shaping hearts, including my own. When I need a temporary recharging, I find it right inside myself, because that is where the Spirit of God lives. When I cry out for wisdom and mercy, I always feel refreshed. Sometimes we forget to just ask, but He is able to do abundantly more than we can dream up if we only ask! When I am low, He sends Chloe with her latest joke and that girl is hysterical! When I am tired, Caylea says, "Mom, I want to try a new hairstyle on you. Can I play with your hair?" Then she plays with my hair for a good hour. When I am missing Joe (when he is gone for any length), my son randomly comes up, hugs me, and says, "Mommy, I love you." God is all over every single one of those circumstances and my job is to receive that refreshing in that form. When I learned to receive it in a way that wasn't necessarily conventional (i.e., massage, facial, time away), I became a more spiritually joyful woman and it affected my entire family.
I encourage you, encourage you, encourage you, to do the same! Minister to your family first, others second. Best of all, be joyful!
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