“It is not in ourselves that we are anointed to be the best mothers in the world but by the grace of God.” Kellie Copeland
Love Them
Eva and I were out one morning doing our usual exercise and play. I was in the zone, getting my speed walking in and pumping some iron, five-pound weights (I know massive). Eva was happily occupied in a magical world of make-believe play, when I heard her say, “Watch this Mommy!” The scene I turned around to was one that left me frozen. She was at the top of her slide with her scooter positioned just right to jump on it and ride it down. I frantically said, “NO, EVA!” Maximus was sitting beside the slide and it was like his thoughts were being transmitted through the airways. The transmission read, “I will not be responsible for what happens next.” Samson, on the other hand was staring at the top of the slide, wagging, what appeared to be, his entire body, in anxious anticipation like, GO-GO-GO! I did manage to apprehend Eva before her stunt was successful.
On the heels of this typical occurrence, my sister calls with a little apprehension in her voice to ask if I ever walked slowly around the car once I had buckled Eva in safely, just to enjoy a small moment of quiet serenity? I chuckled and admitted, “Oh, Brittney, that is for amateurs. I typically give the door a gentle nudge mid her sentence and skip with joy to the driver’s side, knowing in that moment I hold all control.” We roared with laughter.
Oh, the joys of motherhood are never-ending; watching the U-turns of other shoppers as they try to avoid the kiddy cart you are pushing down the isle is pure delight or the fact that there is never any Tupperware left in the cabinet because it instantly becomes a child’s play toy. Undoubtedly, there are times when I am not sure if mothers would call it joys or trials, but nonetheless we love every minute of the unexpected.
As mothers, we want to bottle up these young years and preserve them. Taking family pictures seems to be one way in which we can achieve this endeavor. It is one of my favorite times. Mainly because the behind the scenes looks nothing like the photo everyone gets for their Christmas card. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Obviously, we all want to capture beautiful frames of our families, but typically, for us, a boxing match goes one before the faultless moment is apprehended. Chuck is usually wrestling the dogs to hold still and I am begging him to smile at the camera along with using threatening speech to Eva that sounds something like, “If you don’t sit down and stop fidgeting you are going to get into trouble when this is over!” “SMILE everyone!” “There is ice-cream when we are done, so look happy!” When the finished product finally arrives on the jump-drive, we post tag lines that read, “My heart” or “The reasons I breathe.” I can’t help but giggle because I know precisely what happened to arrive at that consummate moment.
I remember a couple years back, a friend of mine who has six kids was talking to me about motherhood. I asked her what her schedule was like with six kids? Her words became a precious balm I have cherished. She said, “A mother does the same with six kids that she would do with one. She loves them. Having an abundance of children doesn’t make me more of a mother. You are a mother just the same. I just have more laundry.”
At her words my mind was sent racing back over bubbles overflowing in the sink just so Eva could wash her hands and fruit rollups on the garage wall to trap flies. I reminisced back to the time I found her stripped down to her panties wading in the creek. Then a lump crept up into my throat remembering the time she needed me to fix one of her bath toys. I couldn’t get it fixed at that moment. Her big eyes looked up at me as she uttered, “But I thought you said mommies are amazing?” I laughed at the picture of myself in the mirror. What I saw and what she saw were two completely different figures. I looked nothing like Super Woman, but I did to her.
To all the mothers out there; Super Women cape notwithstanding, God has anointed you for the task He has placed within your hands. You are well able to raise the little hearts God has planted within your influence. Find strength in HIS strength. No matter if you raise one or twenty-one children, you are a mother just the same.
Dear Mom,
Thank you for all the country music, all the errands and the smell of your perfume. What is life without tastes, smells, and the closing of one’s eyes to bring back memories you can almost touch. You were and still are one of a kind. No one could wear jewelry or western wear like you. You taught me how to be a lady; all while making sure dirt found its way to my face, hands and knees. You taught me how to be a woman of God, to pray, and look impossible in the eye and deny it the right to stay. If I do everything wrong in this life, my prayer is that Eva and Charlotte will look back and say, “My mother did right by me. She went to bed tired every night because she gave of her time to her family.” It is not in my perfection but in my presence that will be forever lodged into the hearts of my children.” Thank you, Mom, for teaching me everything a mother should know – Love them.
Happy Mother’s Day
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them. Yet not I, but the grace of God that was in me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10
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