Yet just a few short years ago I remember sitting in the same pew almost in tears because I couldn't get my babies to act right. I remember longing for just one moment of worship time without the stress of worrying if my children were ruining the service for everyone else. At times dreaded going because it was an emotional roll coaster, even when they sat with other people I heard every breath they made. In time they were trained and now they even participate by reading, singing, praying, or taking up the offering. Things I dreamed of while I was wrestling with my precious baby. Yet now I listen to the sweet noise (it is amazing how the tone changes when it is not your child) and long for those days.
Mom lesson:
I can't tell you how many times have I heard Don't Blink or you will miss it. Believe me having 3 boys in 3 1/2 years, I am sad to say there was a lot of blinking just to survive the baby stages. I wish you could go back and visit those moments so you can truly appreciate them. First so you can enjoy your precious child who wanted to wear superman shirts every where for 2 years. Second so you can remember what ACTUALLY happened, You can trick your mind into thinking a 3 year old stubbornness is cute AFTER you have survived it but while it was going on it was awful.
SO some free advice from a mom who survived so far:
#1 This to shall pass and a lot quicker than you think. The Good Lord gives you strength when you ask! My 3rd baby slept through the night when I brought him home from the hospital, and at the time that was a miracle!
#2 Deal with behavior issues NOW I know it is hard and you are tired but you need to be consistent and give your child a healthy respect for authority BEFORE you have to start training Attitudes and Heart lessons
#3 When a mom with older children offers to help with your precious baby, PLEASE let her. You need a break and she needs the memories.
There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Whatever season of motherhood you are in remind yourself, there is some mother out there longing to be in your shoes. Some may want to remember and others may be caught in the chaos.
As my youngest heads to Pensacola in August, I think back to when I was an emotional wreck, I could not leave her and go to the bathroom! She would scream her head off, meanwhile her brother, only 13 months older, had issues of his own. And my five year old resented them both. I didnt think I would survive, it, I really didnt. Now, I would give anything to go back armed with what I know now. I'm dreading empty nest.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how quickly I see the empty nest coming now where a couple of years ago I thought it was a lifetime away. I know you are proud of them!
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