I love my children. I adore how individual and unique each one is. I love how they are so loving, caring, and even on their best days not perfect. I am often in awe of them when they accomplish something as simple as remembering how to spell a hard word or even remember their address. Each day they make me smile with their quirky ideas, fun and silly sides, and overall loving nature. I love my children because they are mine. There isn’t too much that I would not try to do for them!
Which leads me to my thoughts for today! We have been hit with either a bug or a bad case of food poisoning. Either way all three little ones were away for the weekend and got some upset tummy’s. The older two were able to over it quickly. We are on our third day of having the living room set up as “Sickness Command Central” for the little one. There is a mattress on the floor for Mommy or Daddy to sleep on, extra clothes and wet wipes handy, Gatorade and applesauce at the ready, Germ-X bottles everywhere, and Lysol on standby at all times. You could say that this isn’t my first rodeo, we have been down this road more times than I care to count. Yet I do not hold it against my children that they are sick. I am not upset that I have had to bleach bathrooms daily or wash whites for the third time this week. There is not much that I would not do to love and care for my children, and that includes sleeping on the hard living room floor for six months if need be!
As a Mom, it is my JOY, yes I mean joy not job, to take care of my children. If I have to sacrifice something to meet their needs, so be it. I am, after all, first and foremost a mother. There are days that I am tired, there are times when I feel alone, there are times when I am frustrated. During all these times I remember that I am always their mother. I will do what needs to be done to ensure that my children are happy and healthy. I will do this to the best of my ability, and I will do this gladly.
As I was laying on the floor with the sick little one snuggled close to my side, his hands clutching me as if I was his life line at 4:00 this morning, I realize that I am modeling love to my children. If I am willing to sacrifice this little bit of my life for them, maybe they will learn to recognize what real love, what a real sacrifice looks like. This in turn lead me to think about my Father, God on His throne in Heaven. How many times do we cling to Him, willing Him to be our lifeline when we are sick or hurting? How often do we take the time to recognize the sacrifice that He willingly made through the death of His child, Jesus Christ on the cross? How many times am I truly willing to snuggle down next to Him just to find my rest, to be healed?
I’d like to say that I was perfect and ran to God with everything, never messed up, and of course, never “sinned” anymore; but that would be a major lie! One thing that I do know is that my Father is always waiting for me. He delights in me whether I am sick, sad, lonely, happy, silly, and yes even when I mess my life up. He is always waiting for me, arms wide open, I just need to crawl into His lap and grab a hold of His lifeline.
As I am called upon to snuggle down and sing Jesus Loves Me for the 100th time today, I hope that I will stop and really think about what that means to me. As I am asked to clean bathrooms, sanitize the kitchen, and wash yet another load of clothes; I pray that I will do so lovingly and without complaint. After all, the sacrifice of my time and care cannot compete with the sacrifice of the cross, and just as my Father, I will ask for nothing in return. I will cherish the time that I get to spend with my children, and pray that I will be the Mama to them that they deserve. I hope that they will see the love of Christ in me, even on these hard, lonely sick days.
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