Motherhood refines

“It’s weird having those kids up there. Were our kids that blasted clumsy? And did they eat that much?”

“Sure,” Sairy said.

“I guess my brain pretty much forgot all that,” Tiller said. “Do you think we were good parents?”

Sairy turned to look at him. “Of course we were, once we made our mistakes and got over worrying so much. Sometimes I think we were just getting really good at it when all of a sudden those kids were grown up and gone. Maybe that’s why it seems easier to me now… I figure we know what to expect and we know how to love kids.”

Quote take from Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech

It was interesting reading your comments on why you love being a mom…  many of you wrote about the refining process motherhood has created in your life. My personal experience has been the same. Motherhood has a way of highlighting the selfishness and impatience and…

It most definitely makes me dependent on Him. It is one crazy-hard job!

I love the quote above from a little gem of a book titled Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech. It is a book I found in the youth section of our library. It is about two orphans who move for a summer to Ruby Holler with an empty nest, older couple.  The quote is a conversation between the couple Tiller and Sairy.

Sairy is so patient with the kids. She doesn’t let their clumsiness and mistakes addle her. She expects it. Tiller is not so patient, but he hides it.

I want to be more like that.

Motherhood has presented many, many opportunities to practice patience. Daily I have the choice to show grace or respond with frustration and irritation. I wish I made the right choice more often.

But hey, it’s a refining process.

It’s not going to happen in a day, or even year. Frankly, it’s a process that will not be finished in this lifetime.  BUT if I let God use this Motherhood thing to refine me, MAYBE, with each year that goes by I can become a little more patient and a little less selfish. I can learn from my mistakes and get over worrying so much. I can learn to expect mistakes and clumsiness from my kids and show more grace when they do.

And, MAYBE, when my kids grow up and are gone, I will look a little more like Jesus than when I began. I’ll know what to expect and I’ll know how to love kids.

PS There is still time to win a copy of Momumental! Just leave a comment on that post and you are in the drawing. I will pick a winner tomorrow.