Rosie is up with the sun and Peter follows soon after. The two of them tool matchbox cars around the living room rug while the coffee brews and I pull my bible down off the shelf. Another morning here. Another morning with them. It's early and I'm tired but who can resist smiling when he shows her how to make "engine sounds" and she follows right along?
I've been feeling my way through the last few months, a little heart-raw, if I'm being honest. But nothing quite brings me perspective like a few quiet moments in the presence of these 6 souls I'm supposed to be shepherding. Their hearts astound me over and over again and teach me so much about love and contentment and trying over and over again. Rosie drops her matchbox car off the side of the couch and Peter hustles right over. "Whoops, baby...here ya go." Stooping low, he scoops it up with one hand on her shoulder, giving it right back.
There have been many times when I feel plumb wrung out. I've given all and more is demanded and all I want is to shut myself away up in my room and wait it out, let those minutes tick on by in the hopes that someday it will suddenly be easier and I can resurface, free. But real life doesn't work that way. Real life requires getting up every day and giving out everything and serving and loving and living. If I spent my life holed up in an introvert's paradise, would I be living at all?
It's in the thick of it, after all, that the goodness seeps through. Through hard work and heart-work and laying down, day after day after day, that I get to be a part of something beautiful. Something beyond what I alone am capable of. I spend days making and being home to my family and nights counting the many ways that I'm the one that comes away blessed. I can never work harder or love deeper than God, but the more I serve and the more completely I love, the closer I cling to His heart. And that, of course, is really what it's all about anyway.
I can hear the big kids rustling around upstairs, the girls speaking in low voices and someone brushing their teeth. The stairs creak and they're on their way. I sip my coffee and reach out to catch Fiona in a hug as she stumbles past, rubbing her eyes. "'Mornin, Mama."
The tough and the hard, the happy and the sad, all work to shape my heart into a softer and more empathetic version of me. It's here, with these people and this crazy life that I uncover heart places, day after day, that I never dreamed possible.
{It's Mindful Mothering Mondays, a day to take a deep breath and write out your mothering journey, whatever form it takes. A day to link up for encouragement from others who are in this same phase of life. A day of writing out the trials and triumphs and what you're learning right where you are, right now.
You might post recent struggles or thoughts. Maybe just a picture or a quote. Or maybe you'll just come here and read the links that others post. Whatever form your participation takes, this is a day for you.
We are all in this, together. Together, we can encourage and build one another up, be honest with our shortcomings and strengthened by community to keep fighting the good fight.
I chose Mondays because what Mama doesn't need a little encouragement on a Monday? As such, I'll have the link up ready to go on Sunday night for you to begin submitting your links.
I hope you'll meet with me each Monday! Here's what to do ~
Link up your post below. Remember to put the link to the exact post you want to link, and not just your blog url. Include in your post a link back here so others who want to join in can find us! And visit some other Mamas who have linked up.
Post the community graphic within your post, so people who are reading your Mindful Mothering post can come back here and find the rest of us!
Invite the writers of your favorite blogs to join in!
Share this meme with others on facebook and twitter. This community is for all moms, and the more that participate, the more we will be able to enjoy!!}
Grab the graphic here:
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