I love this picture of my boys. This picture is a sneak shot of one of the many times I have stared at them while they do normal everyday activities. I stare at them while they sleep. I stare at them while they laugh and talk to each other. I stare at them while they read. I stare at them while they play. I stare at them amazed that I am not just their mom, but A MOM! I mean, have I really been given the task of rearing these little people into men?!
Honestly, I think I really stare because sometimes the magnitude of motherhood dawns on me, and I get intimidated! Today, Mother’s Day, is generally when it hits me the hardest. Mothers and mother figures are honored, appreciated, and celebrated for the pivotal role we have in our children’s lives on this day. And, like most of my deceptive thoughts that spin out of control, they usually begin with joy…then digress rapidly from there.
Isn’t that crazy? The goal is that thoughts linger in joy, bathe in joy, and just kinda hang out in joy. Mine begin there then start to move away from joy into the abyss of hyperbolic folly!
So beautiful thoughts of how proud I am of my boys, and how God has covered me in wisdom with rearing my boys, slowly began their descent into the “What if I’m not…?!!!” “What if I don’t…?!” cesspool.
But, as I turned my mind from fear into the peace of faith and began to read God’s word today, I realized several things…those things that I fear because of my role in my boys’ lives, are actually those areas in which I should rejoice because God trusts me. And, one of those areas is their hearts.
I thought about the heart and the role of a mother with that sacred vessel. Our connection to our child’s heart really begins in the womb. The child we carry in our womb is lulled to sleep, moves about, and even grows to the music of our heartbeat for 9+ months. Then, once they are born, being close to us while they nurse or eat and then sleeping across our chest, they are continually comforted by the beating of our heart. And what’s even more beautiful, is that even for mommies who adopt, their babies adapt to the rhythm of their new mom’s heartbeat because of the continual embrace and closeness they provide.
But, it doesn’t stop there. As our children grow, they love to cuddle and be next to the music of the heart they’ve known all their lives.
But it still doesn’t stop there. Because our children have grown up close to our heart, we in turn have the power to affect their hearts as they grow into adulthood. It amazes me how many kings in the Bible behaved a certain way because of their mothers. Either their mother influenced them to be better, or they influenced them to be wicked. But, there was always influence. Grown men!
I am convinced daddies influence purpose, direction, and plans for a child’s life (the mind), but mommies influence beliefs, compassion, and passion (the heart).
It’s a big job. It’s an important job! And, yes, it’s an intimidating job. But, we have been equipped, mommies. We have everything we need ALREADY to do this awesome job God has called us to.
So, remembering this, I began my mental ascent back to joy to continue appreciating today–Mother’s Day! Our special day where mommies and mommy figures everywhere are recognized and valued for everything we are to our children and/or the children we influence, flaws and all, as the keeper of their hearts.
