Even so, I know that just as in every area of life, motherhood offers the opportunity to practice holiness. I pretty much blew that opportunity today. I didn't treat Max with the compassion and patience he deserves as a fellow child of God. Sad. I missed moments to cherish those dirty, noisy little treasures. Motherhood is the perfect chance to die to self, but self doesn't willingly lie down and die, at least my self doesn't. In the midst of limits and confinements I'm reminded of Philippians 2:5-8 "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross." Talk about limits! All powerful God chose to limit himself to a small planet, in a small body, to die, for me. When I look at things that way I realize what a privilege it is to 'limit' myself so that I can better serve needy little people. He showed me the way, he provides the power, I need only to obey.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Motherhood
Life is constantly changing, there are very few things that seem truly eternal. At this moment though, motherhood is one of those things. Will my toddler always scream for what she wants? How many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can one person make in a lifetime? I'm pretty sure that at some point the incessant chatter of a kindergartner will in fact cause my ears to fall slap off my head. Some days my world feels defined by four walls, small two bedroom apartment walls. It's sad when you actually put jewelry on to go to story hour at the library because that constitutes 'going out'. Motherhood is a confining time in life, especially for the stay at home mom. You constantly work around nap time, food likes and dislikes, bed time, potty accessibility, little attention spans. It's easy to feel left behind by husbands and friends, someone's gotta stay home with little sleepy heads.
Even so, I know that just as in every area of life, motherhood offers the opportunity to practice holiness. I pretty much blew that opportunity today. I didn't treat Max with the compassion and patience he deserves as a fellow child of God. Sad. I missed moments to cherish those dirty, noisy little treasures. Motherhood is the perfect chance to die to self, but self doesn't willingly lie down and die, at least my self doesn't. In the midst of limits and confinements I'm reminded of Philippians 2:5-8 "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross." Talk about limits! All powerful God chose to limit himself to a small planet, in a small body, to die, for me. When I look at things that way I realize what a privilege it is to 'limit' myself so that I can better serve needy little people. He showed me the way, he provides the power, I need only to obey.
Even so, I know that just as in every area of life, motherhood offers the opportunity to practice holiness. I pretty much blew that opportunity today. I didn't treat Max with the compassion and patience he deserves as a fellow child of God. Sad. I missed moments to cherish those dirty, noisy little treasures. Motherhood is the perfect chance to die to self, but self doesn't willingly lie down and die, at least my self doesn't. In the midst of limits and confinements I'm reminded of Philippians 2:5-8 "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross." Talk about limits! All powerful God chose to limit himself to a small planet, in a small body, to die, for me. When I look at things that way I realize what a privilege it is to 'limit' myself so that I can better serve needy little people. He showed me the way, he provides the power, I need only to obey.
thank you for sharing this. you expressed so well almost exactly how i have been feeling of late.
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