Wordless Wednesday

(Okay, a few words!  Here's my little guy "playing" the harp at the park!)

Rush Hour

I am so excited to introduce you to Guest Blogger....CATHY PRINGLE!!!

Cathy and I met as kids in Florida, and used to have sleepovers where we would make "radio commercials" on cassette tapes.  :-)

We ended up at different schools and lost touch, but thanks to email and Facebook, we have recently reconnected.  Maybe there's a friend from YOUR past that you should try tracking down?

Cathy is just as sweet as she was in 8th grade.  And she's also a beautiful wife, mama of 3 little girls, and writer, whose love for the Lord shines bright.  Cathy, I can't wait to see where God takes you with your writing.

Enjoy this awesome devotion, which totally made me bawl, because sister, I have been there!  And if you have kids, you probably have, too.  You can read more of Cathy's stuff on her blog, Dust Keeps (Kids Don't), and connect with her on Facebook. 

RUSH HOUR

In the early morning hours of an average weekday, I sit in the dark on the couch in my family room The whole house is asleep, that is, everyone but me and our speckled alley cat who is purring loudly next to me, hoping to be fed.

In just fifteen minutes the race will begin: a frenzied dash for the school bus that includes waking, feeding and dressing a five and seven year old, while fielding a two year old trying hard to catch up with her big sisters.

But this is my quiet time; a time I try to spend with God every day. For a few peaceful moments I sit by myself to read the Bible and pray. I cover myself with a soft fleece blanket and close my eyes.

Please God, bless my husband today at work. Keep him safe. Please watch over my children. Keep them healthy. Help them learn. Help them grow. Please help me to be a good mother and wife. Watch over my mother. Bless my brothers and their wives. Please heal my friend, bless her new baby.

I continue, pouring out my concerns to God. I am comforted and know that He has heard me. My eyes are closed.

I try to enjoy being still, but the advancing clock propels my eyes to open. I hear the low rumble of the highway near our house, signaling the beginning of rush hour. I sigh with sudden weariness. My rush hour has begun too. There is so much to do, a barrage of breakfast requests, the lunchboxes, the backpacks, library books, field trip permission slips, and homework folders to remember. Mix the above with tooth brushing, ponytails, a wardrobe change or two, and an average day has begun.

I think: These kids don’t have a clue how much I do for them. Any second they will appear and start asking me for things faster than machine gun fire. My shoulders tense up and I realize that I am overwhelmed before my day has begun. Some days I get tired of all the requests and wish we could sit and enjoy being together on the couch.

Then I start to wonder, God, do you ever just get tired of me constantly asking you for things?

As if in reply, my youngest daughter appears in the doorway, rubbing sleepy eyes.

She walks over to me on the couch and climbs into my arms. She lays her blonde head on my chest. She snuggles into me, and I rest my head on top of hers. I feel the warmth of her trusting body and know that she loves me. We are content simply being together. She reaches up to touch my face, and my heart is filled.

The sleepy girl in my lap shows me what my prayer life has been missing. I apologize to my heavenly Father, and relax in a moment of loving Him. I just enjoy being still. I thank God for listening to me, for loving me, and for not sighing in weariness for all the things I ask of Him.

On the brown couch in my living room, I imagine us both sitting in the lap of our loving Father, reaching up in love to touch His face.

My rush hour begins, but with a new appreciation for the requests ahead of me. I make the breakfasts, pack the lunchboxes, and dress three girls with love, realizing how similar we are.

Be still and know that I am God Psalm 46:10

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

A Letter To My Son On His First Birthday

Sweet Dallas,

Last November, Mommy had our first year together all planned out.  When we would eat, sleep, play, work, etc.  It was going to be so perfect, because Mommy had thought of everything, and was really good at organizing stuff and making things happen by the sheer force of her will.

Then you were born, and all of those carefully laid plans fell apart.

Suffice it to say that your first year has been NOTHING like what I thought.  But suffice it to say that it has been infinitely more wonderful, terrifying, fun, sweet, and beautiful than I could have ever imagined.

Dallas, you are the most amazing person I have ever met, and it is my greatest blessing to be your Mommy.

Thank you for being so patient with me, and rewarding me with a smile that lights up the whole neighborhood every time I come into the room.  Can you please always stay this happy to see me? 

I promise you that this year Mommy will be with you more.  I promise to laugh more and stress less.  I promise to play more and work less.  And I promise to make lots more forts with your special lion blanket where we can hide out from the world, just the two of us, while you giggle.

Dallas, in your short life you have taught me so much.  You are kind to everyone, and you really know how to slow down, be in the moment, and enjoy life.  I love how you can look under the same pillow 50 times, and be delighted every single time you do it.  You have taught me to really laugh from my belly, and to not take myself so seriously.  Especially when I have sweet potatoes in my hair or peas all over my pants. 




I admire your courage so much!  This past year, I've seen you try so many new things, whether it was rolling over or sitting up or taking those first wobbly steps, and stick with whatever it was you were trying to master,  falling down again and again, but then getting up again and again and again.  You inspire me!

You have shown this same courage with all of the health challenges you have faced.  You maybe be only 19 pounds, but your heart and your spirit are ginormous.  You have been so much braver than Mommy!  Do you know that many, many kind people all over the world have been praying for you?  Mommy's prayer is that, as you grow, you would come to know and love a God who is watching over you even now.

Dallas, I feel blessed that, through all the hard times this past year, I have truly realized that all that matters is love.  All that matters is how we care for our family, our friends, and the people around us.  Thank you for teaching me to stick close to the people that I love, and helping me grow up in a way that would have been impossible without you.  I am so blessed to have finally gotten it through my thick skull that these days right now are the sweetest days, and to be enjoying every moment with my precious baby.

I love you to the moon and back, Dally-boo!  Happy Birthday!

Mommy

Lyrics from "The Sweetest Days"
You and I in this moment
Holding the night so close
Hanging on, still unbroken
While outside the thunder rolls
Listen now, you can hear our heartbeat
Warm against life's bitter cold
These are the days
The sweetest days we'll know