This originally ran in 2007, but in honor of Mother’s Day this weekend, I’m rerunning a few old posts on the topic of motherhood.
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I just read the latest post on a friend’s blog, about her oldest child’s early ventures into kindergarten. I love reading her thoughts because, like me, she has two girls and, like I did, she stays home with them. It brings back a lot of memories.
Earlier this week, I also became a part of the Christian Women Online (CWO) Blog Ring. I’ve enjoyed perusing those blogs, and have found so many stories of other young moms who are in the throes of raising their young families. I so remember being in that place where potty-training seems like an impossible hurdle (and you find yourself wondering if they make diapers big enough for 2nd graders or if Depends will come out with a “junior” version by the time your kid is that age), or your sole mission for the day is to take a shower. I also remember when the sound of a child’s cry was heard almost daily. Upset, frustrated, hungry, tired, hurt, afraid…you were called upon to sort it out and make it better, all the while trying not to let it drive you to distraction. I even remember thinking, then, how lovely it would be when my girls could take care of all their own body-function needs, when they took care of their shower and I took care of mine, when their every emotion wouldn’t bring tears, but they could manage them effectively on their own. Wouldn’t it all be so much easier?
As I look back at my life then, compared to my life now, it IS easier in a lot of ways. I was right about all the personal care management. 🙂 But, sometimes, when my girls are upset or frustrated, hurting or afraid, I wish I could be that young mom again. Those times when they were little, my hug and kiss, soothing tone, or cuddle on the sofa, was almost magical. It carried with it the power to dispel whatever ailed them. Now, the things that ail them from time-to-time are much bigger. They stand to affect them on a much larger scale, and while I could so often thwart bad things from happening to them as little girls, I can’t protect them in the same way as big ones.
As they say, hind-sight is 20/20 and “they” are right. I wish, in the midst of the craziness and the getting-through-another-day-successfully-ness I had relished the satisfaction of being able to take away the hurt, savored the feel of their little bodies relaxing as the fear went away. But I’m not sure I took time to live in those moments…to treasure them. So, young mommies, this is for you.
There is a word found about 70 times in the Psalms…”selah”. Like a “rest” in a musical score, it is placed between verses, asking the reader to rest or in the case of the Psalms, to take a “holy pause”. In Luke 2:19, Mary has just given birth to Jesus, in a barn, and has just been surrounded by a band of shepherds that are probably filthy and smelly, not to mention strangers. This is definitely NOT the most ideal birth situation! However, she lives in the moment. She takes a holy pause. It says that she “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” It’s true that she’s just given birth to the Savior of the World, and she knows He’s something special. But, I believe she also probably had an inkling that things were not going to get easier from there. I think that, later, as she watched Him be persecuted, she was probably thinking back to when He was small and she could hold him, protect him, and make it all better. And, I would imagine that she was glad she had taken a holy pause, treasuring those moments and pondering them in her heart.
You’ve heard it a million times, so, I guess this will be a million and one:
They grow up SO fast.
The world is rushing at them as fast (if not faster) than they are rushing at it. These are the precious moments when you can hold your little peanut-butter-covered munchkin and kiss away that scary world. Then, sticky yourself, you can “selah”…take a holy pause…learn a lesson from Jesus’ Mom and this older mom and ponder these things in your heart.