Mamma Me

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. – Proverbs 31:30

It’s been a beautiful Mothers day.  I had all three of my kids home today and that was the perfect gift.  Motherhood, like most things, changes over time.  I remember a few of my early years of motherhood wanting nothing more on Mothers day than a few hours of peace and quiet. I loved being a mom but I just wanted a tiny stretch of time when nobody yelled the word “MOM”.  I also remember thinking one year that the perfect gift would be for everyone  in the family to wear the same clothes for a week so I wouldn’t have laundry to do.  Today, instead of wishing for peace and quiet, I love the sight and sound of  tall bodies stretched out in my living room and ten feet parked under my dining room table.  

As I looked through my FaceBook newsfeed today, I saw post after post of beautiful mothers with lovely children.  I saw tall mothers, short mothers, old mothers and young mothers.  I saw moms who looked all put together and moms who looked like they might be ready to unravel as they wrangled up a toddler for the perfect mothers day photo.  The thing I loved best about all those photos is that they honestly showed that motherhood is messy!  It’s the best hard job a woman can have and somedays everyone stands up straight and smiles but most days there are things that have to be hunted down, squeezed tight and pinched into place…and I’m not just talking about the children!

I’ve never been a charming, beautiful, fashionable, got it all together kind of mom.  I’ve never been the coordinating outfits, papers always turned in on time, perfect healthy lunch packing kind of mom.  There were plenty of mornings I looked out the front door as the kids ran toward the bus and thought, phew…thank goodness they made it out alive when I wanted to be the mom who blew a kiss and told each of my kids something inspirational.  More Sunday’s than I can count as we tromped quickly through the church parking lot I was barking orders about not touching each other or talking during mass instead of helping my kids prepare their hearts to meet Jesus.  Most of the time I forgot to tell them to wash their hands, I stole some of the good candy from their Halloween bags, I hid toys that annoyed me, and I taped pages together so I didn’t really have to read ALL the pages of the Go Dog Go book.

Truth be told, I’m probably the most imperfect mom out there but this line from Proverbs 31 brings me hope.  I do love the Lord and I have great fear, or wonder and awe for him and his mighty works. I hope he sees that I tried to do my best with the gift of these three kids he gave me.  As I watched them harass each other, laugh together and play cards with their 92 year old Grandma today, I’m grateful that they turned out to be delightful young adults.   I guess doing chores, getting dirty, eating pretzels and ketchup for lunch and wearing shirts inside out because mom didn’t catch it on the way out the door didn’t hurt them.  I may not have been the kind of mom I always wanted to be, but by the Grace of God, I was the kind of mom he made me to be.  There are plenty of things I didn't give them but I did give them lots of love, lots of prayer and lots of laughter.  Today, I thank God for picking me to be the mamma of three great young people and for giving us everything we need plus extra!​

A Seed To Plant:  Who are the people who have most influenced your life?  How many of the things they did are you sharing with those you love?

Blessings on your day!