July 13, 2011

motherhood....from tough to tender

Ahhhhhh......the joys of motherhood! Tiny little bundles of joy that you can't wait to hold in your arms. You want to see their face, count their fingers and toes, hold them close to you so you can kiss their little cheeks. You feel like you have waited forever for them to arrive....and then they do. LOL
The fun begins as you go through all the stages of childhood into adulthood. The illnesses, the bumps and bruises, the teenage years of sleepless nights and gutwrenching days of the "unknown". Trying to figure out how to cut the apron strings and let them go. Watching them leave the nest and praying that you have raised them right, that they did comprehend something, anything, that would help them be the men and women that God wants them to be.
I have 3 children, Clay, Jerry, and Erin. 2 boys and a girl. All 3 have different personalities, outlooks on life, and attitudes. But they all have one common ground.......me, their mom.
Recently I had a spat with my daughter who felt that I have a "favorite" child and it wasn't her. I wracked my brain trying to figure out the best way to help her understand my heart. I prayed really hard about it and this is what I felt the Lord give me to say to her.

I gave birth to 3 individual children. They may all have some similarities in looks or builds but each one is unique. Because of this uniqueness, I have a special, different relationship with each one of them. But the love I have for them is the same.....from the greatest depths of my heart.

I realized today that this information was not just for my daughter but also for me.

My oldest son called me today while he was at a concert just to let me hear some of the music because it was one of my favorite groups. He was out with his wife having a great time but yet he thought of me and wanted to share with me because he knew it would make me smile.

Yesterday my middle son called to ask me to help him pray about a situation he wasn't sure how to deal with. He thought enough of me to ask me to help him pray because he knows I will. He trusts me.

A couple days ago my daughter called to share with me that she had a job and to also ask my advice about her baby teething. She wanted me to share her happiness and also thought enough of me to ask my advice. She trusted my experience with children to try and help her.

Wow....how awesome is it to feel their love and respect for me. To share in their day to day lives.
How humbling to know that my children feel like they can come to me in good times and bad, to share their hearts with me knowing that I will listen and try to help if I can. That no matter how many times we may disagree or get mad at each other, in the end, we are still family and will forgive and forget because we are family! That bond is forever.

How much is this like our Lord? How much he loves to share our day to day lives and enjoys us coming to him with the good things as well as the bad. To know we love and respect him so much that we will take the time to just talk to him and share with him our deepest thoughts or just praise him for the littlest blessings that we take for granted so much. What an awesome God we serve. It's the little things that mean so much. Thank you Lord for the precious moments that we can see and know....they are just one more gift from you.

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