I am the Older Woman Now

Just hours after she entered the world, I quickly dashed over to get a glimpse of her beauty. My eyes locked upon her face. I couldn’t help but to stare at her. Her plump cheeks prompted me to pull her just a little closer in hopes of feeling her cheek next to mine. As her eyes slowly opened and quickly closed, I wondered how she would view the world as she grows. For a brief moment I pondered the thought of how the world would view her, since she was born into a family with multiple children.
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Changing of the Season

As I look through the lace curtains that cover the big sliding glass door, I can see the huge pile of wood that my husband will cut this weekend to help keep us warm during the months to come. Today is the official start of the Autumn season. I am almost prepared.

For the first time in my life, I visited an Amish community this Summer. I was one happy girl. It has always been my dream to visit such a community. That is one thing that I can cross off my bucket list. While there, I stocked up on spices for the Fall baking season.

What I wasn't prepared for was the mixed emotions that this season brought upon me. It hit me one day that this will be the last Autumn season that I will began a new homeschool year. Our youngest daughter is a Senior in highschool.

Although I long for time to stop just for a moment so that I can cherish my baby girl just a little longer; however, I know that is not possible. So, here I sit gazing out the window preparing my heart for the changing of the season while reminding myself to make the most of each moment.

I say to my heart...
"Be still. Fret not. The changing of the season will bring crisp cool air and dead leaves to the ground, but you, my heart, will stay warm and enjoy the abundant life promised from my Savior."

A Day Remembered

During a recent conversation I had with my oldest daughter, she shared with me that one of her greatest childhood memories happened when she was sitting in the back seat of our car. Her memory of that moment is so vivid in her mind. She remembered the big blue Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. It was the day she asked me to pray with her. She then asked me if I remembered.

I vaguely remember that day in the car. To me, each day was just an ordinary day of teaching and training my children. Little did I know that in the midst changing diapers, wiping noses and “playing school” as my children would say; those little ears were listening to me. I’m also certain on that day I had to remind myself that mothering my children was not in vain. Daily I had to remember that what I was doing had eternal significance and my children being little was only momentary.

As we continued to talk, she started to thank me for taking the time to pray with her that day. She even told me that I was a good mom. I wasn't sure how to receive those words. Wouldn't a good mom remember a day that was so life changing in her child's life?

It was then that a peace came over me. Whether I remember each moment in the lives of my children was not the matter at hand. What was important is being the mother that God has ordained me to be.

Too often we can be our worst critic when it comes to motherhood. We look at all the things that we perceive we are doing wrong that we lose focus on why we are doing them. Truly, if we understood that the One who called us to mother our children has so much grace, we would see ourselves differently. We would no longer feel defeated at the end of the day when our minds give us a play by play of everything that went wrong. Instead, we would see the goodness of the Lord who brought us through another day. After all, that ordinary day to you, may be an extraordinary life changing day to your child.

"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isaiah 54:13