*a revised post from my What I Think God Has to Say to Christian Working Mamas
Jesus , throughout His ministry saw people and He sees you too...
He sees you...
He sees you at 5:30am when you are struggling to get out of bed and get your family ready for the day.
He sees you packing lunches and prepping breakfast and dinner and thinking about your sweet children upstairs still asleep, hoping that you are doing the right thing by working.
He sees you and the care you take packing backpacks and leaving notes in lunches because you are hoping that note will feel like a gigantic hug from a Mama who misses her kiddos during the day.
He sees you at work, looking at pictures on your desk, on your phone and laughing to yourself at the latest antics of your little ones.
He sees you picking up your kids, that first hour being tense- you wishing everything could just go perfectly, and them transitioning and feeling out of sorts and you wanting to get homework done, dinner made and when you snap at your kiddos-
He sees you feeling like a failure.
He sees you stopping and hugging them, putting down the burnt dinner and pulling out the cereal and playing Legos in your work clothes and He says- "Atta girl! You know what's most important!"
He sees you staring at them while they sleep, loving them so fiercely and deeply.
He sees you at church on Sunday, staring at the bulletin and seeing that you can't make the women's bible studies because they are during the day and how you don't want to go to an evening study anyways because every night belongs to those babies.
He sees you staring at piles of laundry and wanting to cry.
He sees you feeling alone a lot and wanting more connections.
He sees you wanting to enjoy each moment with your kids but also needing friends and some time for yourself.
He sees your sacrifice.
He sees you and He is proud of you! As proud of you as you are when your 6 year old hits a home run, or when your 3 year old starts to dress himself.
He is proud of your hard work, the details you put into your homemaking, and the ways in which you try to live for Him in the workplace.
He is proud of you for watching your finances and budgeting and looking for ways to save money so that one day you can reduce your hours.
He is proud of you for working late some nights so that you can attend a field trip or earn extra money for school shopping.
He wants you to know, to REALLY KNOW- that He has created these children with YOU in mind. YOU are EXACTLY what they need!
Never put yourself down for what you can/cannot do for these babies, but remember that He will fill in the gaps with His Holy Spirit and He will find people to help you when you cannot be there.
Your job is to help them see that the relationship that you have with God is most important.
Your job is to let them watch you depend on Him , so that they can see that: you love Jesus, you need Jesus and that- Jesus is always faithful to you.
And when they look back, they will remember how much you loved Him and loved them in every crazy, quiet, frustrating, and joyful moment.
They will remember the prayers before leaving the house, the bible stories in the car, the lessons on forgiveness after a frustrating conversation, the Jesus Love Me's being sung over their sleepy bodies as they drift off at night...
I want to cry reading this. =) The glamour and prestige of working in the office is there, but the satisfaction of the messy household chores, and accomplishing things in the house can give a lifetime of precious moments that will gain its reward in the long run. =)
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So many precious memories as a mama can be gained only by remaining focused on his grace in the midst of it all! So glad this touched you sweet sister- God Bless!!!
DeleteThank you for this post. The original was what first led me to your site in the first place...and today it was needed yet again because both of children were sobbing when I left the house to go to work today. It tore me up! I miss them so!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you Christina!!! Stay strong in Him. You got this- one day at a time. You are a good Mom who loves her babies! My kiddos have cried too- it is so hard but they do stop and smiles return. I know that feeling though- it hurts! Hang in there!!
DeleteI remember reading the other post about this similar thing. I was in tears then and was brought to tears today.
ReplyDeleteI am very thankful that you write what you do. It's speaking to so many women out there in this situation. And though I know God sees and loves, it's always a gentle reminder when you're feeling like a failure.
But I did have to make a decision to not attend a bible study that starts tomorrow night. I have basketball and my 4 year old goes to bed quite early. There are many sacrifices we make.
This time (I may not have said before) but the 3 I have now are my grandchildren that I have custody of. None the less, I'm raising them as my children.
And it's still nice to read these words.
THANK YOU AGAIN.
Patricia
Patricia! I remember you friend. Might lady mothering her grandchildren. I so admire you! Stay strong sweet friend. You are so faithful and God sees you. You are loved, known and cherished. Every day you are investing in eternal matters. Those children are so blessed to have you!!
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