Family Friday - Dear Me, on the Bad Days {Guest Post}

Dear Me,

It doesn't matter how silly you feel or unimaginative. It doesn't matter how much you have to put off, or what goes undone. The time you spend playing with your children, rocking or reading to them will be moments you remember and cherish forever.

You won't remember your most clever status updates or notifications. You won't remember the series finale of the most talked about show.  You won’t remember the mess that needed to be cleaned up, the ringing phone you ignored or the text that went unanswered. You will cherish "these" moments. The ones that so easily get pushed aside because you think you can get to it in 5 minutes. You'll remember the times that instead of cleaning-up around them; you involved them and made memories.

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Dear Mommy,

It doesn't matter how silly you feel, or how bad you are at playing pretend. It doesn't matter that our home isn’t constantly clean. What I’ll remember the most is you teach me Jesus.  You teach me memory verses. You sat down with me to read. We played on the floor and we chased fireflies.  You didn't manage our arguments from your laptop but from playing with us and role playing how we should respond in conflict.

I don't really remember all the practices you shuffled us to or all the lessons I learned in church, but I remember the conversations in the car and that what we learned at church you lived out at home. I remember the conversations at the dinner table. I will remember in school that you didn't expect me to get A's but you helped me to get A's.  I know that I am special and important because that's how you treated me. I wasn't a constant interruption. Life was your interruption.

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We never regret time spent with our children; the times that we choose to lay “self” aside to play with them. Things never flow smoothly nor do they happen quickly but the happy, calm times when we step back, take a breath and enjoy, is never regrettable. 

When we approach situations calmly instead of in a rush, things flow smoother, our children are more settled.All of the hurried nights we get home late, they still need a bath, their teeth brushed, a book read and prayers said; despite our exhaustion, as moms, we must train ourselves to calm down and cherish these fleeting moment of their childhood. "Those moments" those hurried moments are the ones I find I need Jesus to intervene the most! The ones where as a mom I fail miserably, the ugliness of my flesh and temper rise to the surface much quicker – these are the moments I don’t need to “check-out” I need Jesus to “Tag-In”.  My words do not teach my children nearly as much as my actions do.   When I choose to yell instead of surrender in that moment, I have chosen to sin instead of pursue Jesus, instead of pursuing the hearts of my children and pursuing peace in our home.  We must invite Jesus not only into the easy moments but these hard ones, when it’s so easy fall prey to sin.

One of the hardest parts of being a mom is learning to find the balance between responsibilities and intentionally taking time to spend with and focus on my children.

Our children will face a lot of rejection in this world. I don't want their first taste of rejection to come from me because I was "too busy”.If I say I would lay my life down for my children, should my life not display it more than I say it? 

Melissa Bradley is a stay-at-home mom with a mission.  Daily praying for ways to be used by God on Mission. You can find her at www.missionalwomen.com.