The above picture is as close to the real world as you can get. My dining room table has become the answer work emails, create a craft to occupy Andrew while I work, build catalogs for my dealers, drop the backpack to reload before the next outing and shove over a little bit of space so my family can sit and have dinner place. I find myself juggling many plates and think the below picture is a perfect representation to how I feel these days. Momma said there would be days like this...
Today I took Andrew to the grocery store. It got ugly--REAL UGLY. I had three cashiers helping me pack my groceries so I could get the heck out of dodge. It was a lesson in humility for me and Andrew learned that no means no. we worked through it but today was ROUGH, REAL ROUGH.
Tonight Andrew & I did not have sweet cuddles before he went to bed. We had a battle of wills that left both of us in tears as I closed the door to his room. He was out in less than a minute. I laid on the couch and shook my head, "What the heck happened to today?"
I am in the middle of reading a book that every Mom should read called, Beyond Bath Time. And I could not have found this book at a better time than now. All day today, I kept thinking about this quote and just knew it was time to share it with other moms (because I am know I am not the only one who has days that end with us scratching our head saying "What the heck happened today?")
"You cannot mother perfectly. But that should never have been the goal. You can mother with purpose because Christ has promised that where you are weak, He is strong. In fact, I want to encourage you to make 2 Corinthians 12:9 your new motherhood mantra. "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." How would your world change if you let yourself move away from the notion that you need to mother perfectly and toward the radical idea that motherhood challenges are a gift because they clear a path for God to work in and through you."
This boy is teaching me so much about unconditional love, grace and chipping away at my areas of pride. Thank you Lord for this sweet boy. Help me Lord to see each day as clear path for you to work in and through me.
I'm going to miss this age -- 2 year old tantrums & all--when it's gone.
