Coffee for the Weary Mama's Soul
After reading this post on 7 Things Mom Really Wants this Mother's Day. It got me thinking about a few things I appreciate in this season with littles:
Full hands and full hearts
Affirmation: When my man (or someone else) takes the time to note the effort I've put into something or someone, it makes a hefty deposit in my emotional tank that still has many many miles to go. If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me, "you must be busy," or "you must have your hands full," I could hire a housekeeper. We can do better than this. Mothers of littles have full hands, and we also have full hearts. Say something to affirm a mother's effort rather than simply stating the obvious. We already know we are busy.
Appreciation: When my littles or my man thank me for something I do (and vice versa), it makes a deposit in the emotional tank. We try to make gratitude the attitude around here. And when it's not (particularly at supper time), we practice hunger until our attitudes change. Keepin' it real. Thank someone today. Gratitude is God-prescribed.
Asking: What do you need help with? What do you want for Mother's Day? How do you want to celebrate? Answers to these questions change depending on the year and how much sleep I've been getting, so it's always nice to be asked.
This post by Holly Gerth at Coffee for Your Heart about rest. Anyone else feel like they continually have to fight to embrace rest? I have a "quiet" chair in my bedroom I bought in the fall with the intent of sitting in it for 5 minutes each day to be still and know that He is God. Last week I sat in in last week for the first time in months. I'm continually thankful for Jesus' invitation: "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest."
The rest our souls long for can be experienced as often as we simply come to Jesus.
“And to fight this fear we might fidget with another project, hustle for another compliment, raise our hands to shade our eyes and scan the horizon for proof that we’re enough. I have lived this and I am learning to lay it down as one does any addiction. There are still withdrawal symptoms sometimes. Like this afternoon when the glory of creation is all around me and I’m invited to join it, to just be, but instead I only want something productive to do.”
And this post she wrote about worry... oh man, did the the line about control crash into me like a tidal wave of conviction. I know three women right now (all in their 30's) who are in the throws of chemotherapy right now. Temptation to worry is high, but so is the opportunity to worship (acknowledge God for who He is). Worship can turn worry into productive prayer.
“Worry is seductive because it feels like control. If we are worrying then we must be taking action. We must be turning the tide. But this is only a distraction and deception. It’s a shiny object for us to chase to keep us from going to the One who can actually get it done...What frees our hearts isn’t worry; it’s worship”
Happy Friday friends! Have a blessed Mother's Day weekend!
