Hi, friend!
Hi friend! I am so glad you have stopped by the site. We have such a wonderful community of moms here and we would LOVE for you to join us as we share life and learn together!
Hi friend! I am so glad you have stopped by the site. We have such a wonderful community of moms here and we would LOVE for you to join us as we share life and learn together!
I've learned over the last 15 years of marriage that loving my husband has made me a better mom. It wasn't until after we had our first child and she began to mimic me that I began to understand this to be true. Now, nearly 14 years after her birth, I have watched our baby girl grow up and become a wonderful young lady. I have also realized that some of her character traits have been influenced directly by the way she sees me love my husband.
Sitting in the dark shadows of my small cozy library as the sun went behind the mountain, found me and one of my older children talking quietly of struggles, challenges, battles of life, and long term endurance. The deep friendship, shaped over years of shared life, had knit our souls quite together.
I wasn't expecting this moment to be a memorable one. Just a normal moment in the dusk of day, that shaped a soul-satisfying memory.
"Mama," my grown child tenderly whispered, "One of the greatest things you have ever accomplished is to keep our family together through love, faith, laying down your own life, and enduring with as much grace as Jesus could give you, so that our lives could be whole, healthy and strong. I know that only God will know the ways you have chosen to give and serve and forgive, when you had to make the choices to do so. But all of us kids have benefitted because you were willing to weather the storms of life for us and hold us together."
His answer caught me a bit by surprise. "I would love it if you just hugged me...longer."
In a season of difficult decisions and busy schedules, I had asked my husband, "What can I DO to help you?" I wanted to make phone calls, create to-do lists...take things off his plate. I longed to right the wrongs and fix things. Well aware of all that had to be done in the day to day, I rarely paused for long displays of affection; I was too efficient for hugs.
It was a bright, sunny spring day with puffy clouds in the sky. My children and I were returning home from a busy morning of running errands. Since we were ahead of schedule for once, I decided we would stop at a local coffeehouse to grab a refreshing treat. I love the coconut lattes there and my children love their green tea– fruit smoothies. We could sip our drinks and talk about what the evening held, which included grilling out and a trip to the local baseball diamond where both of my sons had games scheduled for later that evening.
As we rounded the corner of the building to reach the front door, a teenage boy stood near the door with his back facing us. I thought he looked familiar. His navy blue coat and curly brown hair seemed to belong to the son of a friend of mine. As we got closer, I saw him turn his head to the side and then realized it was my friend’s son. I spoke his name cheerfully to greet him. The reaction I got was not what I expected.
I'm sure I'm not the only mama out there has often heard the statement, "But mom! So and so is allowed to do it!" Or, "Everyone else has one..." Or, "Why can't we just be like everyone else???"
And what do we always say in return?
"You are not so and so, and I am not so and so's mom, and our family has their own way of doing things."
And while we might hear this more clearly from our children and have a strong reaction against it, what about all the times we have a similar dialogue within our own hearts and minds?
