motherhood — Discovering Jubilee

The Small Little Ways Motherhood Has Changed Me

1. When taking phone messages I am much more likely to use a crayon than a pen.

2. Pee and poop are daily topics of conversation in my house.

3. These days, when a song gets stuck in my head, it’s usually from The Wiggles or Bob the Builder.

4. I use baby wipes to clean everything, mainly because I have a pack of them from Sam’s Club in every room of my house from chasing toddlers around to change diapers.

5. I’ve got amazing strength in my arms, from frequently carrying two kids up the stairs at the same time.

6. I’ve got amazing strength in my legs from just chasing kids up and down the stairs so many times a day.

7. I never buy any article of clothing (except for jeans) that is over $20 because it’ll have spaghetti sauce or spit up on it by the end of the day.

8. I actually enjoy driving a minivan…it’s just so much easier to cram diaper bags and strollers for three kids into it than the CRV I used to have.

9. Some how the five second rule for food has become a five minute rule.

10. I have deep discussions with my oldest son about things he asks, like whether or not God is sitting on the piece of cheese on the table.

11. I’ve gotten used to my car frequently reeking because of someone dropping their sippy cup and me not being able to find it.

12. I’ve learned that one doesn’t really need much space to sleep. It is actually possible to fit two adults and three little guys in a queen sized bed.

13. I’ve become an extreme multi-tasker. If I hadn’t, with three little boys, nothing around the house would ever get done.

14. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that my life and house will never be calm and quiet again, at least not until I’m an empty nester.

15. Sometimes I think that going back to work would be a vacation.

16. I’m forced to lean on God SO much more! Kids don’t come with instruction manuals and for some reason God didn’t find it necessary to have us fill out a resume to determine if we’d at least cared for a gerbil sometime in our pre-parenting life. Without him being so willing to guide and teach, I’d be dazed and confused for sure!

17. Finally, by being a mom I’ve learned how much I love it. During my college years and shortly thereafter, I didn’t have a burning desire to have kids, but now I know that I was being stupid and being a mom is the greatest thing ever.

Seeking to fully live,

I’m participating in:

Engaged and Aware

Mouths to feed. Laundry to wash. Diapers to change. Bills to pay. Errands to run. Lessons to be taught. A house to clean. And more…..

Being a mom of three little ones is a completely time consuming job, especially when I want to do it well, and be the wife that my husband needs.

I love my job – it is rewarding and I know it has eternal significance.

But I struggle with the fact that it’s getting harder and harder to stay engaged with the world and remain aware of all that is going on around it. If it weren’t for listening to the BBC and NPR while driving my son to preschool twice a week I’d be clueless about the revolutions currently taking place in the Arab world, I would have missed the New Zealand earthquake, I’d have no idea about the shooting of soldiers in Germany, and I’d just have assumed that the atrocious gas prices were do to government bureacracy.

It bugs me that at this exact time in my life my personal world is basically uni-ethnic…even the church I attend and love is, while economically diverse, certainly not racially diverse. Just getting to visit with friends who aren’t Americans has become such a challenge that it has basically fallen to the wayside.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of everyday life in suburbia, America. Run your errands, grocery shop, drive your kids around in your Honda minivan, just following all the other SUVs and minivans in front of you on the road.

And seriously, the great extent of my relational community these days is Facebook! Good grief. While fun, it isn’t my idea of in depth, meaningful relationship. Thank goodness for MOPS and church life groups, or I’d be a social hermit.

How does God feel about places like this in moms’ lives? When women who have travelled globaly, love the people of the world, want to make a lasting difference and know and empathize what is going on with people outside their country, yet are so tied down with the mundaity of everyday life that just hearing about the collective bargaining arguments in Wisconsin are like a breath of fresh air because at least you’re getting some news from the outside world?

What is my responsibility in the midst of this tension? Let the struggle go and just focus on my family and my little ones right now, or constantly fight to find outlets to engage with the world, however small those engagements may be?

Jesus, let me see with your eyes, know the will of the Father, and help me let go of the guilt that comes with not being able to be everything to everyone.

Seeking to live fully,