A Moment In Motherhood

Motherhood is made up of moments.

Some of those moments are more blissful and enjoyable than others. The moment your tiny baby smiles at you for the first time.  The moment your little one figures out how to ride a bike on their own.  The moment your child makes a hard decision and feels satisfaction in knowing they are doing what is right for them.

And lets be real.  Sometimes the moments of motherhood aren’t all rainbows and lollipops.  There are the moments of exhaustion.  The moments of tantrums.  The moments of siblings fighting about anything and everything.  The moments where yelly-angry-impatient-mom has replaced the civil-loving-sensible-mom.

And sometimes these harder moments all seem to blur into one downward spiral, where the difficult moments feel like they far outweigh the rewarding ones.

These challenging moments seem to stretch for an eternity and often they feel insurmountable, especially when you feel like you face them day in and day out. Those moments during the witching hours when all the kids are l.o.u.d.l.y. clamoring for your attention  - homework problems need attention, diaper blowouts need to be cleaned up, hurt feelings need to be soothed, misplaced library books need to be found – and of course dinner needs to be made while you are trying to answer the phone and figure out how you are going to get out the door on time to attend the latest school or church function.

There are the moments of exhaustion.  The moments where you want to throw your own tantrum.  The moments where you feel like a failure and you are ready to quit this mom business.

But then you are reassured that you are “truly not failing. Failing means stopping. Not getting up, not trying, not giving. That’s not you.”  Because somehow you keep on going, even if you don’t always have a smile on your face.

You are doing the best you can possibly do, even if it feels like you are merely running in place.  You are trying, even through the tears you are attempting to figure out a way to make everything better.

And at the end of the day when things are quieter and the little ones are mostly in bed, you find a homework assignment one of your children has been working on.  And it reads:

“One person that is important to me and has had a great influence on me is my mom. Whether I’m nervous, need help, or if I’m scared, she always helps me. She is a person that I can be around to let all of my feelings out, no matter what it is. She gives me advice, and also teaches me what’s right and helps me straighten out my problems. My mom is definitely a person who I can look up to for help and support.”

And you realize that it is all worth it – the good, the bad, the LOUD and the ugly.  You realize that somehow you are stronger than you think.  You realize you can do hard things.  You realize you aren’t alone.  And you realize that possibly you are making a bigger difference in the lives of those around you, more than you think.

And you learn to celebrate the little joys in life.  You learn to appreciate the tender mercies the Lord continually gives you, even if at times it takes awhile to find them; they are there.  You remember that the days might seem long, but the years are short.

And you learn that this very lesson is something you will be learning over and over again – that motherhood is all about moments.  And ALL of the moments are helping to shape you … and your children … for the better.

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