Give a Little

I found a blog several months back, and I immediately fell in love. I found it about a day before it went viral online due to an amazing post about NOT having to love every moment of motherhood every single day. I laughed and cried at her posts and thought I'd found pure gold. And then, the bombshell. She posted something that I could not in any form agree with, especially under the heading of "Christian". So I stopped plugging it to friends and stopped reading dailly. But I still catch up now and then, because one of her whole premises is that we as Mommies need to stick together, even when we disagree. No judging each other, because we're all in this together. And while I do think God calls us to be discerning and not to accept everything or every action that we come across, I think she has a good basic point.

We as Momma's have it hard enough. We struggle daily with our children and a culture and maybe a workplace and a community that doesn't always or ever support our roles as Mom's. So why do we fight each other? I may not agree with the way you "train" or don't your children to sleep, or letting them suck their thumb, or what they can or cannot eat. But guess what? They are YOUR children! Just as mine are mine.

So while I may still roll my eyes at times or cringe at some judgements some parents make, I'm trying to train my heart to be more prayerful and less judgemental of other parents efforts. We're hopefully all trying here, and I know I for one am trying to do my best to raise my son and future children the best I can.

I will be 37 weeks pregnant tomorrow. And I'm super lonely lately. ~Physically it's gotten harder to be active and about with Levi. And sleep is broken and fitfull. There's so much more I coudl say physically but whining is what gets me lonely. ~Emotionally I'm anxious (don't preach, I know the verse) about when and how this baby is coming. I'm worn out from my independant strong-willed 2 year-old who is pushing every boundary and I don't always push back like I should. ~Spiritually I'm dry and thirsty. I'm wanting to seek God but feel like I'm just struggling in the dark due to my own sin and attitudes. ~Maritally I miss focusing on my husband. This pregnancy has consumed some of me at this point and I'm not a very good friend to a man whose love language is time spent doing things he enjoys. But he's gracious, incredibly so. I don't deserve him. And I miss spending time alone with him. Baby-sitters seem to be in short supply these days. ~Mentally I'm exhausted by the concern about this baby. It is totally a miracle of God that I'm still pregnant, but even miracles make us worried. My body is not perfect, there have been issues with any pregnancy I've had, half of which have ended so far in the death of our babies. While I don't take blame that isn't there for those, there's still the concern my body could fail this baby and it all go haywire in seconds.
And it's hard to describe any of this to anyone. So I'm lonely. I keep hoping when this baby comes I'll "get back out there" and be a better friend. But then I wonder who I'm kidding. I'm not sure I've been that great of one to start with. I guess I just wish my best friend lived next door. :)

So the point being, with all the struggles we face as Mom's, let's give each other a little grace shall we? And maybe ourselves too while we're at it. And let's all strive to make this journey a little less lonely for each other.

The Second Time Around...

We own a dog. His name is Dexter. He's got lots of energy. :) He's also really spoiled. He needs some serious training. He's a super smart dog and at times we feel as though we're doing him a disservice because he could be such a well-behaved, smart, and enjoyable dog. We do enjoy him, he's just a handful. And we were just lazy about training and making him obey. There's still hope, but for now, he is the dog he is.

Which lately has me thinking about my son. We can't afford to make the same mistakes twice. The dog was just so cute and funny that we often let him get away with stuff. My son is cute and funny, but we try really hard to not let him get away with anything. Because it's not worth it. It may be easier right now to let him do what he wants and not discipline for wrong attitudes and actions, but in truth, if we did that, we would not only be hurting ourselves, but harming him for life. You see, Levi doesn't need to be spoiled. Because we all know those adults who act as if their lives are the most important, and if something comes along to disrupt them, well you better watch out for their tongue at least, if not sharp actions as well. And no, it's not all their parents fault, but come on, teaching your child to trust you and obey you is only for their benefit.

Which makes me think of my own application. We've been trying to explain to Levi about patience. My simple words the other day? "Levi, we need to be patient. That's when we wait without whining." And it hit me. That's me. I do that. I try and try to tell God "okay, whatever your plan is. Whatever you're doing, that's fine. You are good." And then I whine. "But God, I'm really having a hard time here. Don't you see this? Don't you care?" I try to pretend I'm being patient but really, I'm just saying so while I wait to whine.

So as I try to teach my son to be patient and to trust his parents, I need to remember to do the same. To have true patience, and to trust my Daddy. He really is good.