My yesterday (Tuesday) was just like a Monday. All three girls are fighting colds so they weren't quite themselves. Sara was fussy and Mya and Hannah weren't exactly in the mood to get along with each other. Crazy! I felt like I was putting out fires all day and holding Sara to keep her calm. I needed one more arm to help me out. Sometimes I wonder why God didn't design us with more than two arms, especially for mothers. Other than looking silly with three or four arms, I think it would be really helpful. I could hold Sara, cook dinner, hand a snack to the girls, and wipe a runny nose. Imagine what I would accomplish in a day. Anyway, I learned the hard way that I do not do a good job with putting tasks on the back burner so I can just play with the girls. Our preschool days go so much smoother because there is structure and they have my full attention. I find that it is hard to look past the things that I need to get done around the house and wait to do them later. I often feel like they need to get done right now. I think a lot of behaviors could have been squelched yesterday if I would have spent more time playing with the girls. It is all about balance. I spent the afternoon fighting with Mya to take a nap. And then at dinner time, Sara grabbed her baby spoon and splattered baby food all over my shirt and pants. It was a perfect end to a perfect day (tee hee). I am so grateful that the Lord gave me another day (today) to start over and learn from my mistakes. I love the girls so much and that is why I feel frustrated when we have a tough day. I want them to always know how much I love and care for them. When I am disciplining it is hard to feel like I am communicating that to them. However, I also know that I discipline out of love and someday they will know that too. I just read the coolest thing on another blog and I love this perspective for tough days. It is so true and I hope that experiences like yesterday only help me to become more christ-like.
Our purpose should really not be in trying to avoid life's challenging moments, but rather in learning to become more Christ-like as we weather those hard times, for they will come.
Holding On and Letting Go
8 months ago
2 comments:
Sounds like wisdom to me! GIve yourself a break - you do a wonderful job. And they know you love them; that's why they test you, after all! :)
This blog is timely for me Juls. I have been thinking a lot lately about the time I spend cleaning versus playing with the girls. I know the girls are more important, but I can't feel at home in a house that isn't organized and clean. I was actually thinking of ou before you wrote this blog, wondering how you manage your time, b/c I know that you like a clean home too. How do you schedule your cleaning and other non-kid things, like excericse, etc. into the day? I'd love to get some feedback!
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