This is Chase's depiction of me juggling life as a mom. No one tells him to draw stuff like this; his little five year old mind is just as honest as it gets. Apparently we moms must multi-task or something, and we also have go-go-Gadget arms that help us do a hundred things at once. He knows me well to include a phone, my cup of chai, an apple, a bowl of cereal, homework, my Bible, and a handful of kids. He just forgot to draw the three year old hanging on my leg. And thank goodness he threw a couple of hearts in, or else I would really start to get worried.
Tess spilled her milk the other day, and Chase said, "Geesh, kids sure do make a lot of stress," just like he wasn't a kid, and just like he'd never in his life caused his parents any grief. Funny kid.
December means lots of extra juggling as a mom. Throw in four kids on constant sugar highs, a surgery and an excited nine year old's birthday and you're almost done for. But I sure don't want the only thing my kids to remember about the holidays growing up is a stressed out mom who over-committed to lots of good things, but forgot to focus on what was best. I don't want to be known for hangups like hanging the ornaments by myself so they'll be perfectly spaced, or shooing eager children out of the kitchen so they don't mess up my perfectly decorated sugar cookies (which get eaten in like ten seconds anyway).
There will be plenty of years when my children are gone to choose all white lights to elegantly decorate my entire house. But for now, they want some fun color mixed in. Who can blame them, really? And for crying out loud, the world will not come to an end if they insist on rearranging the Nativity a hundred times a day, confiscating baby Jesus to ride in the Batmobile or keep them company while they sit on the potty.
It's sort of a compliment if you think about it, and Jesus is everywhere anyway, right?
I'm pretty sure my kids don't care if I can tie a cool bow on a package, or if their teacher's gift was the coolest in the class. But they sure do love it when I sit down beside them and we enjoy our cups of hot chocolate together (they MUST include a heaping pile of whip cream, sprinkles, and a candy cane hung on the cup's rim) at random moments in the day (when I often tell myself I should be doing something productive... hmm).
I want them to experience more than a juggling mom this Christmas. I want them to see Jesus in me as I humbly serve. I want them to hear Jesus, as we tell the story of His birth, and as we worship Him for coming to save a broken world. I want them to feel Jesus' love as we say no to just enough stuff so that we can surround them with ours.
1 comment:
I have two comments:
1. It is super sweet that he drew a smile on your face while you were juggling and there are big hearts near you. It is evident he knows you love juggling for your family and they love you.
2. When my daughter was four, she drew "boobs" on my cheeks. She didn't know where to put them, and she knew they were important because that is how her sister was fed. I am glad she thought they belonged there instead of at my knees. After nursing three kids, the lower area is more accurate.
Merry Christmas. Have a safe and blessed holiday.
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