At the Well

Well, better late than never. I have had a busy day filled with helping my mom and sister with finishing up the wedding things. But I have been thinking about this post for several days now. I have a few thoughts that I would like to share.

Sometimes, as a mom to many small children, I fall into the trap that this is not fun. That children are hard and a lot of work. While this mothering job is hard and is a lot of work, it is also the calling that God has given me. And I love it! The world feeds us this lie about needing “my” time and doing things for “myself”. When did Christ take time for himself? We are called to serve and to give of ourselves selflessly. I have always wanted to be a mom. From the time that I can remember I have wanted to be a mom. So, why do I find myself dreading the things that come with this job?

I “want” to be a hands on mom and to pour into them in a selfless way. But then why do I find myself “hiding” behind the computer reading more blogs than I should. Or being “too busy” with work to stop and spend the time. I have decided that it has to stop. If I don’t take the time now to train my children then I can’t go back. If I don’t take the time now to color with my girls or drive monster trucks with my son, I will never get to. But the laundry will be there tomorrow and the dishes will get done eventually.

I HAVE to be consistent. I have to pour into these children and train them. Not just watch them grow up. And I find that when I do spend the time and pour into our children I really do LOVE this job. I am proud of my children and I desire to watch them grow up to love the Lord and to serve him with their everything. I want them to be well behaved and I want to be a mom that they can be proud of one day. I want my husband to be proud of his family when we are out. And when I look back on these hard, busy days, I want to know that I did my best. Not that I spent too much time on things that would last and not on my children while they were growing.

God is our Heavenly Father and the ultimate example of a loving parent. He never leaves us and He tends our needs; He loves us no matter how badly we mess up, and He gave the ultimate sacrifice for us. As a mother I say I am willing to give of myself and give my everything for my children, but am I? I am resolving to be. I am choosing to start now to “parent” these children. I will turn off the computer, post less often, if necessary. I will be more organized with my time so that I have more time and energy to spend on my children. I want to put more of an effort into their obedience and growth. I am resolving to make a change.

When I am consistent and take the time to get up and get involved and do it right away I can see that my children respond better. Their behavior and their choices improve almost over night. Once they see that mom is “here” and not just sitting there, they learn to think twice before they don’t listen. I find that once they see that I mean what I say things run smoother around here, we have a schedule and they know what to expect. We eat better meals, the house stays cleaner, and the kids are better behaved. So why do I not keep this up? I have no idea!?!?! But I am going to try it again.

Well, this post has gotten longer than I wanted but God has laid this on my heart since I saw this topic. So, I am asking you to pray for me as I try to stick with this new commitment for the betterment of my family. And hop on over and read other woman’s responses to these questions.

Here are some questions to help:

Are there areas of hardness and coldness in my life? What are the roots of these? Do I need to release someone who has hurt me in my past? Do I need to confess and release myself from the bondage of sinful patterns in my own life?
What are some ways that I can turn the conversation around when other women begin to gripe and complain about their children?
Name some creative ways we can create warmer, more inviting environments for our children.