You may read some of my blogs and say, "She just really has it all together." Though there are times when I feel like I have a good handle on things, there are just as many moments of doubting my abilities as a wife and mother. I can't tell you how many times I have felt the need to go into a sound-proof room and just scream. Being a mommy and a wife is not always easy. Neither is being in the ministry. Actually, it's hardly ever easy. I hope that I haven't given anyone that impression on my blog. The last thing I want to do is mislead anyone, especially young women who do not have a husband or children of their own yet. The truth is that this "ain't no walk in the park"! There will be days when the babies won't nap, you can't even go to the bathroom in privacy and you burn dinner. There will be days when you are pooped on, peed on and threw up on all in the span of 30 minutes. There will be days when your toddler gets into the fridge and throws raw eggs all over your house or stuffs blocks in your toilet. And if your husband is in the ministry, there will be days when he is gone all day and just when he sits down to enjoy the dinner that you spent all evening preparing, he gets called away on pastoral duties. And sometimes these duties aren't actually pastoral duties that have been outlined in scripture but rather duties that unspirtitual people in the church have deemed important. (I'm not even gonna touch that one with a ten foot pole right now...that's a blog for another time) Anyway, the point that I am trying to make is that being the woman that God has outlined in scripture for us to be is no piece of cake. In fact, apart from God, we as women fail miserably in this area. If I have had an especially bad day all I have to do is look back on it and see that the reason it was so bad was because I did not spend any time in prayer or in the Word. You see, the only way for us to succeed in this area is to immerse ourselves in God's teachings and apply His truths to our lives. For it is only then that we will have have this super-natural ability from above to exercise love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Take this for instance: Josiah stuffing his blocks in the toilet or his toys in the fireplace....normally, it's not what he has done that makes it a bad day. It is how I react. If I react patiently and with self-control then it is easier to look back on his actions and laugh about them. And by not reacting out of anger and frustration, I have in turn protected the rest of my day from being horrible because one outburst of emotion usually leads to another and another and another. Plus, I have taught my child the right way to respond.
If you are reading this and you do not have children yet, I hope that the truth is not discouraging you from becoming a mother. Yes, children are incredibly needy. Yes, they are messy. Yes, they destroy things (especially little boys). Yes, it can be so very frustrating. But having children is a beautiful gift from God. Just think about it: the Lord has given you the opportunity to raise up and lead your children to Christ. I can think of no higher calling than to make disciples for Him.
And for all the frustrating moments that occur, sweet moments like these definitely make it all worth it:
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