Time Stand Still

This year has been busy to say the least, but since Thanksgiving it has gotten even busier. In some ways I am glad that this weekend is over, and in some ways I wish time would just stand still for just a little while.

 On Sunday my youngest child turned five months. I mean where has the last five months gone. He is not a little, cute, snuggly newborn anymore. Well actually he is still pretty cute and loves to snuggle, he is just not so little anymore. He is so alert and loves interacting with his three older siblings, and they adore him as well. He is eating rice cereal now and trying to still up on his own. I find myself wishing that time would just stand still for even a little while so I can hold my sweet children a little longer.

 Yes I celebrate with them when they learn something new or accomplish a task that was hard for them. I am their cheerleader and their biggest fan. But my mom heart breaks to see them grow up so fast. After my first child was born I remember older parents telling me (a lot it felt like) that "When your children are young they will be under your feet, but when they are grown they will step on your heart.". I have never quite understood what they were meaning. My children are not only "under my feet" but in my hair, busting through the bathroom door while I am still in there, asking me what feels like a thousand questions all the time, needing one more hug or sip of drink after bedtime. Children are curious by nature and learn best by being "under my feet". How many 7 and 6 year olds do you know that will fight over who gets to help mommy wash the dishes? Even through all of this, I wish time would stand still a little while longer.

I want my children to look back on your childhood and have sweet memories. I want them to remember that mommy was there for them, loving them, and trying to point them to Jesus. I want them to remember us praying together, learning together, and wanting to be in each other's company. I want them to remember the time spent cuddled up  on the couch reading stacks and stacks of picture books. Or getting to build with blocks for hours while I read them a chapter book. I want them to remember park days and night time good-nights. I want to remember all these things as well and for time to stand still a little while longer so I can make more memories.

I would never have guessed just how hard motherhood could be at times, but it is so worth it!!! I would choose this life again if given the choice. There are times (many times) that I cry out to God asking Him to help me fulfill this high calling of motherhood. I am always asking Him to help me to be the person He created me to be, to love my husband, to love my children, to be a light for those in the dark. It is never about me, but about God getting all the glory for what He does through me. I am just a vessel willing and waiting to live out my grand adventure that He had planned for me before the foundations of this world.

There is a short poem that I read on blog or website awhile back. It is a reminder just how short of a time that we get with our children. It is the following:

Song For a Fifth Child, by Ruth Hamilton. 1958

 

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.

 Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

 

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
 Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo.

 Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
 Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo.

 The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
and out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
but I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
 Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo.

 

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

From Diapers to Big Kid Underpants

I have been a mommy for seven years and counting. I always wanted to have children. In my "perfect" view of my future, I wanted three to four children evenly spaced about three to four years apart in age. In reality I have four children who range in age of seven years down to almost five months old. Am I disappointed that my plans went awry? Am I upset that I have both boys and a girl and not just one gender or the other? I can answer both questions with a resounding, "NO!". The reason is because years ago I asked God to show me His plan and purpose for my life.

 

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  

 

If I had done things my way, I would only have two children by this time in my life. I would have missed out on the joy of having my other two children. I would have missed out on part of my adventure that God has ever so loving been leading me.

 

Raising children has pushed me even more to be completely dependent of God. It has tested my faith to trust that He can meet not only all of my needs but the needs of my children as well. Our family has been drawn closer together as we pray for God's guidance, forgiveness, protection, wisdom and perseverance to keep going when the naysayers come with their negativity.

 

Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)
The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

 

I have been changing diapers for the past seven years. Potty training less than that with two children still to train. Just like I have gone through stages spiritually myself I am still learning and growing everyday. I do not want to be the same person spiritually I was five years ago nor be the same five years into the future. I want to know and live by God's wisdom and not by my own wisdom. Only wisdom from God can help me to make the right choices. It is one  of my prayers to grow in wisdom and knowledge of the truth.

 

James 1:5 (NIV)
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.