Mom-Monday

As I was growing up, some of the memories sealed in my heart are of the way my mother did things.  She kept her hair very short and would say "my hair is getting long and it is driving me crazy".  She wore these polyester pants to work each day and only a certain brand would do.  Then as a teenager, I was given strict instructions on how to wash, dry and put them away - no exceptions.  When she warned me about things, there was always an "if" - "If you do that...this will happen".  These were a few of the little things that drove me crazy! 

Along with those characteristics she had some other habits that were a part of who she was.  She would listen whenever I needed to talk.  She would stop everything if I needed something to help me out.  These may not have been everyday occurrences, but it was always known that Mom was there and always on my side.  She welcomed my friends into our home and as I grew up, married and had children, she loved them and never turned down an opportunity to babysit and lavish love on them.

Those things that drove me crazy as a young girl seem to be popping up into my life!  I have been keeping my hair shorter and it "drives me crazy" when it gets too long to handle.  I actually bought my first pair of polyester pants recently and do you know what?  They look great!  Of course when I do my laundry now, it has to go directly from washer, to dryer, to being put up.  No sitting around or it will wrinkle!  I also have a hard time giving instructions to my boys without labeling the consequence.  It is a fierce desire to make them understand the importance of what I am telling them.

It never fails to amaze me how much we are a product of what we were raised in. When we become mothers, a part of our mother lives through us.  We tend to remember and implement many of the things that we learned as children by our mothers. As we feel our way in our mothering habits, we learn some things work and some things do not work! 

Motherhood binds and unites women of all ages, backgrounds and diversities.  There is an understanding of the heart among mothers that seeks out the best for our children.  Through triumphs and challenges, our goal is for their good. Our hearts rejoice in their accomplishments and wrench at their disappointments. 

Motherhood is one of the greatest callings of women.  What we are is being poured into the lives of our children for them to carry on in their lives. Great aspirations of being a great mother begin with the smallest of details.  Patience, kindness, peacefulness and grace are longed for and only developed step by step, situation by situation and sometimes by the gritting of the teeth and a smile that overrides the desire to snarl.  

I am joining today Mom-Monday which gathers mothers together as we encourage one another in this high calling.  May we purpose to embrace our homes and families with the unlimited  love, strength and grace that the Lord freely gives.