Where have I been? I haven’t posted since Harper was born…That about sums it up. I’m a Mama to a busy 7 month old!
I’ve had so much to share but these silly blog posts take me hours to write! So I’ve decided that instead of waiting to have hours in a row (that is sure to never happen again) to sit down and blog all that God has been teaching me, I will just sit down when I can and jot down the lessons as I go :). They are promised to be even more grammatically incorrect, and even more jumbled. But hopefully you all can make sense them.
Just today as I was feeding Harper her sweet potatoes, I had to confess to God that I needed an attitude adjustment. I found myself today feeling put-out by having to redirect Harper at least 100 times from our coffee table that she’s bound to hurt herself on. I’m redirecting her from EVERYTHING, but for some reason my annoyance this time fell at the coffee table. This is it right? This is having an active baby. This is where the loving discipline starts so that she learns and doesn’t harm herself. NO SURPRISE! But why was it annoying to me? Anyways, I prayed and asked that the Lord would replace that attitude with one of joy. Joy that she’s excited to explore, joy that she’s mobile, and can explore! Then Chris Tomlin’s song, “Our God” played on Pandora and I was just compelled to worship with my hands high. Why not worship while you’re feeding your 7 month old sweet potatoes? That’s not odd timing at all. My first thought was how crazy Harper must have thought her Mom was in that moment, holding the blue sweet potato spoon no less. Then I realized that she’s watching me. She’s watching me every minute of every day and she’s learning the way that I respond to things throughout the day. *lightbulb-She IS my ministry. What an honor it is that I get to stay home with her and direct her to Jesus daily. Then I thought of how grateful I am that she will learn to understand that when Mama raises her hands during lunchtime that she’s not weird, just worshipful. What a beautiful picture it is for a child to witness their Mother being worshipful.
I absolutely know that it’s normal as a parent to have moments of frustration. The goal is not to strive for perfection here. But especially as a stay-at-home mom, I feel it’s greatly important that we fight for joy every day. It’s HARD work managing a husband, children, and a home. And occasionally a social life. There is such great value in being around our children all day long, constantly disciplining them. We can find joy repeating “no” a thousand times! She is worth it. Furthermore, how great it is that our children can witness our confessions of frustration to the Lord, only to see that He’s turned our frustration into worship of Him. Can a sister get an amen? That’s awesome.
I get to navigate these early months growing in my new ministry as a Mother. By God’s grace I’m starting to point her to Jesus from the start. The more Mama months I have under my belt, the more I’m reminded that raising Harper is not only about the person Harper will become, but it’s about God shaping me and teaching me about His character, and the way that He loves me through discipline. And wow, is He patient with me.
Psalms 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Heather, as always your post was beautiful and thought provoking. Thank you for the reminder that being mom is a ministry in and of itself. It is so very easy to forget that.
Beautiful post Heather. 🙂
Amen, sister. 🙂