Monday, April 18, 2011

Embrace and Serve

I help her on the bus; she's ready to go.

"See you after preschool" I call as her big brother falls on the cement driveway. He needs comforting. Snuggles are a must. Followed by magic kisses for the ouchies. I relish the minute before it is banished by other requests that fight for my attention.

"Mom, I can't find any pants I like." "Mom, can I have a peanut butter sandwich?"

I leave little man so I can help his brothers; jumping from one "need" to another, wondering if the day will hold enough uninterrupted minutes for me to check something off my to-do list.

Motherhood is filled with reminders that my life is not my own.

Some days I embrace the reminders. Some days I wallow in frustration because of them.

The frustration comes more often when I'm focused on myself, when I don't take time to sit and be refocused. Spending time with Jesus is vital if I want to ward off frustration and embrace more.

When I choose to embrace and serve, the reward is great. Sought after treasures like joy and contentment find me. They creep in and yell "Surprise" when I'm not looking, reminding me why I love being a wife and mom. They prompt me to give thanks for the people I share my life with, the people I get to serve.

My life is not my own and joy comes when I choose to serve.

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. Galatians 5:13 (The Message)

4 comments:

Emily said...

thank you for that reminder-- there are days i do well with that- but other days (and you're right-- it's b/c i'm focused on ME) when i just go grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Jill said...

Great reminder Megan. I need that right now as we worked on homework ;-)

Ryan and Becky Weiss said...

I completely agree - when I'm focused on myself more than my family I get frustrated by the interruptions. When I'm focused on my family more than me they cease to be interruptions and can become little moments of joy and satisfaction that make life as a mom satisfying!

Our Journey to Grace and Olivia said...

Thanks for the reminder; so true, I can so relate.