Motherhood the land of a messy house, kid wars, food wars, the occasional embarrassing scene at the grocery store where your toddler throws a fit because you wont buy her (or him) the cookies she wants. That place where you look at the little angels who came from your body and see monsters who have invaded your home. Motherhood. That title you wished for and planned for since childhood when you played with your dolls and pretended your bedroom was your house and the neighborhood boy down the street was your husband ( because you were not going to be a single mother, no little girl plays single Mom house).
There are numerous times when I have walked into my house and the only thing I can see is the mess. The toys on the floor, or the odd scraps of little papers and things that seem to make their way onto the floor. The hair ties, shoes not put where they belong and backpacks thrown about wherever they land. The mess. How many of you can relate? I mean really, what if the neighbor down the street comes by to say hello? It never happens, but because your house is a mess you know they will.
As I walk through the door I close my eyes and pray silently that when I open them it will all miraculously be clean. Of course its not. So the other day I was struck by a thought. A simple thought that made me stop and relook at the house as I walked in.
What did I see? Still a mess, but it wasn't that I saw a mess it was what the mess reminded me of that day. (Funny isn't it, God gives us these little messages and unless we in the mood to hear it, we may miss them). This mess, that can so easily aggravate me, became something totally new. There are little people living in my house. These people that God gave me and that I am blessed to come home to. I am lucky to be their mother. I have little ones (and not so little ones) to come home to, where some mothers only have memories. This mess signifies that I am blessed to have my children at home, able to make these messes and aggravate me. While I would still love to come home to a clean house (and occasionally, like yesterday) I do, the mess is now a welcomed site and a reminder that regardless of what we need or don't have, I am blessed, because I am a mom to 4 amazing children.
I'm not perfect, so I will forget and I will get aggravated because I am not perfect and occasionally, like all human mothers do, will yell and pull my hair out, and later that night I will ask for forgiveness for my yelling and aggravation. I will every night thank God for them, pray over them and pray over myself that I will remember that mess can be a positive thing, even if my personality doesn't agree.
So the next time you walk into your messy house....(and for a brief God-less moment wish for vodka or perhaps a spotless home) remember there is a mother (and father) out there who now wishes that they could open their door to a mess, to fighting siblings or loud music playing and be thankful that you still have that. I know I am.
Until the next scribble.....
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