Writing and refreshment for my soul awaited me. A weekend getaway with me, myself and I. Dreamy, for any mom.
Maybe the quiet was more than I’m used to but my thoughts kept drifting back to my husband and my kids.
I missed them. {I KNOW, come on Kathleen…}
Being a mom is all-in, all day, everyday, so it’s super healthy for us-moms to have time away. But it’s a luxury we rarely get.
Being by myself was a little reminiscent of living in a foreign country, not knowing how to speak the language of alone. Eating alone, sleeping alone, going to the bathroom alone. (ha!) There were no interruptions or places I had to drive my kids to. There were no little people pulling at me, demanding my attention.
Of course, there is life beyond and in addition to motherhood. We all know that our children will grow up one day and have their own separate lives. The throes of motherhood won’t last forever. I see glimpses of that even now.
But for now, what if being a Mom is enough?
In my present season, when laundry is constantly cycling, lost socks are my prime nemesis, and my dishwasher runs twice a day.
What if, you and I, took the pressure off ourselves to change the world?
Maybe we would believe what we already know to be true.
That world’s Savior is not you and me.
That God is God and we are not.
Author and pastor, Matt Chandler, put’s it this way,
“I would never worship a God, ever-changing and never certain. He’s not God; he’s ME, and I make a crummy god.”
You and I make crummy gods. To change the world, all we can do is point people to the one true God.
What if I’m doing that ~ just by being a mom?
What if I’m teaching my children about the ministry of presence ~ just by being present with them day in and day out?
What if I’m teaching my children about God’s abundant grace ~ just by asking for forgiveness when I fail them?
What if my living room is where my living testimony lives?
When we get dressed up and put on makeup to go outside our homes – to church, to the grocery store, to work – we only show half of who are. And let’s face it, it’s usually our good half.
But, at home, when we wake up with bed hair and we have to start our day by cleaning up poop that’s smeared all over the bathroom floor or we have to put out numerous sibling fights over breakfast, our character is tested.
Whether we realize it or not, what we really believe about God bubbles to the surface.
Is He loving?
Is He joyful?
Is He peaceful?
Is He patient?
Is He kind?
Is He good?
Is He faithful?
Is He gentle?
Is He self-controlled?
