A Gentle Nudge

This in not a face she made because of me :)

Monday was a day I would rather forget. Do you ever have days like that? I know that I would rather forget Monday, but more than that, Monday is a day I hope that my children will soon forget. It was not a day that I would be awarded the Mother of the Year award. I hope I am not the only mother who has days like this. On this particular Monday I was home with my four children by myself. Matt was out of town for a few days and I had very little patience to deal with the arguing and bickering that comes with having kids.

At the end of the day I found myself alone in my room feeling pretty badly about how I had reacted to my kids that day. This was one of those times I needed to talk to God. I didn’t need a prayer meeting, I didn’t need a pep talk but I did need some time with the Lord. I am so thankful that in all of my failings I can still go to God unashamed and He can give me a gentle nudge in the right direction. I felt God remind me that these four kids who are usually acting crazy like most kids do are a gift from Him. I want my kids to look back at their childhood and remember days of laughter and silliness, I want them to remember that mommy loved them and always made time to listen to them, I don’t want them to remember days like Monday. The only way to ensure that they will not remember days like Monday is to have less of them.

I began to think back on the last eight and a half years of my life and how quickly it has gone, how fast they are growing up. I realized that I have all the time in the world to do what I want to do and to see my dreams come to pass, right now in this moment it is my job to help my children develop dreams of their own. I get to listen as they talk about the things they want to do and I get to help shape their lives. That is a big responsibility but it is also such an amazing opportunity.

Does that mean that every day will be perfect? No way! My goal it to have more good days then bad, more laughter than yelling and more peace than anger. Have you ever heard the saying “if momma isn’t happy, nobody is happy?” As much as I wish it wasn’t true, that saying is true at this house.  I have the chance to set the tone for my household, to be the one to show love when I don’t feel like it and to bring peace in the midst of chaos. Life is chaos; home doesn’t have to be.

I know I am not the only person who gets knocked down by the chaos of life. The most important thing to remember when we get knocked down is that all we have to do is get back up and start again. So even when we have a day like Monday, I have hope that Tuesday can be better.

Lamentations 3:22-24
“22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”