“A cheerful
heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.” Proverbs 17:22 NLT
One of the greatest gifts that God has given us as mothers is the
ability to find joy in the midst of chaos. If you think about it, we have many
opportunities throughout the day where we could choose joy and laughter over
frustration, irritation and anger. We can laugh with our kids, many times at
them. We can laugh at our husbands taking care of our kids, but we should
mainly be laughing at ourselves and the ludicrous things that motherhood can
sometimes make us do! It is not only uplifting and healing to laugh, but
sometimes it is all we can do in a certain situation. There are days that are
so overwhelming, the last thing you feel is joyful, but on days like that
laughter truly is the best medicine, and our children seem to instinctively
know that! Like I said earlier God presents us with many opportunities to
choose joy, and most of those come through our children. The question is do we
see them, and do we choose well?
God promises that we will go through trials, we will faces challenges,
however they are balanced and outweighed by His tremendous blessings,
encouragement and love. One such moment stands out in my memory. Take a listen
to this next segment and see if you can relate.
As a Christian family, going to church on Sunday has always been a
priority for us. As parents we have instilled in our children the importance of
giving our Sundays to God, and being together as a family. This being said it
doesn’t change that fact that when Sunday rolls around, I am never excited
about the prospect of getting everyone up and ready for church in the morning.
I’ve often wondered if it’s just me or if there are other families that
experience something similar to World War III on Sunday mornings. You are
fighting to get breakfast eaten quickly, trying to explain to a three-year-old
why he cannot wear his Cars swimming shorts or Incredible Hulk pajamas to
church, and scrambling to find a pair of shoes that match.
I am always the last one in the shower, which gives me approximately
six minutes to make myself look as far from the mess I feel on the inside on the outside. Then
there is daddy struggling to put on little girl tights, (on our daughter, not
himself!) We finally manage to corral everyone into the van only to be met by
pushing and shoving and daughter pulling her ponytail out.
We eventually arrive a few minutes late; hot, sweaty and more often
than not, annoyed. But somehow a truly miraculous transformation takes place as
we step out of the car and walk into the church building. We are now the
Cleaver Family; happy, all smiles, put together, not a trouble in the world!
Sometimes I smile to myself as we find our seats, wondering how many of the
other 'happy' looking couples walking into church with their families drove there in complete silence because of the
big fight that occurred over little Johnny’s shoes moments before leaving the
house. Let me tell you about one of those particular Sundays.........
…….'It was Sunday morning and we were visiting my mom and dad in Florida. Jasen wasn't with us but we decided to brave church regardless. I had just come out of the shower after
enjoying a fairly relaxing fifteen minutes void of anyone banging on the door
with a near 911 emergency. Daring to pat myself on the back in satisfaction, I
reached for my hairdryer. I hear
commotion outside, “oh dear", I had thought too soon. “Mama! Evan pooped
on the floor!” came a little voice from behind the door. “Great” I think as I
head for the door, “I just sat him on the potty minutes before my shower.” As I
approached the bedroom I hung my head; there standing in the middle of the room
surrounded by poo was my sweet Evan. “Went poopy Mommy” he says with a panicked
look on his face. “Oh Evan” were the only words I could reply. Thank goodness
for Jaden, who jumped in and grabbed the wipes, resolve, and wet rag. I wiped down Evan’s foot, then my own. Oh
yeah, I forgot to mention we both stepped in a pile!
After the Operation Poo clean-up, things went pretty smoothly as we rushed to
finish getting ready for church. We actually arrived on time, enjoyed about 10 minutes of the
service and decided I should either head to the nursery or risk being thrown
out for disturbing the peace. With snacks, plastic animals and crayons
everywhere, it closely resembled a daycare floor. The deciding factor was when
the offering plate was passed and one of the children knocked it on the floor
spilling pennies, nickels & dimes everywhere leaving my mom and a very
irritated parishioner on their hands and knees retrieving the coins!
As I sat in the nursery alone that day watching my kids play, a
realization came to me. You could call
it an “aha moment” I prefer to see it as God speaking clearly into my cluttered,
overwhelmed heart. Rather than sitting there feeling like I was missing out
on 'me time' at church and seeing my nursery duty as an inconvenience, I
started to see it as a blessing. I started to choose joy!
Observing Leah conquer a new shape sorter. Watching Evan take complete delight in Homer
Simpson plowing down The Beast with a cool red sports car. Then, in the next
breath seeing him tenderly tuck in a baby rabbit into bed, “nite, nite, cute
bunny” he says, my heart melts. As he looked at me with a sweet smile, “I love
nursery Mama” said a contented Evan, who then immediately runs off to find
something else to satisfy his need for activity. It struck me that day more
than ever before, life is all play and fun for my little ones, that’s all they
care about right now, and let’s face it, that is all they should have to care
about.'
How many times do we miss out on cherished moments because we are so
focused on our own wants, needs and desires. We choose to wallow in our 'poor
me' pity party and fail to see what God is trying to teach us. I realized that
day that I have the rest of my life to sit in church, but only a small window
of opportunity to watch my children grow. A window that once closed, will never
reopen. May we look for, recognize and gather those many blessings and be
thankful. May we laugh and choose JOY!
At this moment you may be thinking to yourself, "right, easy for
her to say, she isn't going through_____!)
God's word promises us everything we need to live joyfully and succeed
in what He has called us to do, in your case it's being a mother to those he
specifically chose to bless you with.
Psalm 121v1-8
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help
come from? 2
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.3 He will not let your foot slip-- he
who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed,
he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD watches over you-- the LORD is
your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun
will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7
The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your
life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and
going both now and forevermore.
As you are faced with the day to day, seemingly mundane
tasks that seem to fill your life remember to look to Jesus. He has promised
not to let you fall. He does not sleep and is in complete control. He will not
allow harm to come to you, He loves you. We will often times have to make the conscious
choice to look to Him, just as we have to make the choice to be thankful.
Remember that your children are sponges, everything you pour over them they
will soak in. Cover them in joy and thankfulness and watch the fruits of you
motherly labor grow and flourish.