My boys splashed happily in the bathtub, while I splashed vigorously with the bowl scrubber at the toilet. There I was, in the middle of multi-tasking genius. I mean, what better time to clean the bathroom then while the boys play with their bath toys? Suddenly, a thought tickled my brain: What if this is the last time they want to take a bath? They are getting older… you could be missing one of those “last times” and filling that space with… toilet cleaning?
I quieted my cleaning and hung up my gloves. Took a seat on the orange and blue step stool, and watched them play. I felt my soul grow still even as I listened to their happy chatter. I playfully swatted away some stray droplets and helped them make bubble beards. A new thought came stealing into my heart: What else am I missing in motherhood by multi-tasking?
Raising children is a prime example of “working our way out of a job” but sometimes we miss the whole journey because we’re anxiously studying the road map to make sure we didn’t miss a turn. Motherhood is not just a season of multi-tasking, but a precious time we can learn to trust God to provide for us.
Recently, a message our pastor preached on holiness struck me as so fitting for mothers. I Peter 3:5 talks about holy women who trusted God. I paused to ask myself, Is my mothering holy to God? Do I trust God in my mothering? Or do I think that I’m the one who has to make sure my kids turn out right?