About forty minutes ago, I was innocently minding my own business, even working to get dinner put together in the kitchen. Mikayla was napping peacefully in her room. Isaac was, supposedly, kicking his ball around in various rooms downstairs. All was well. I heard the pitter patter of Isaac going up the stairs which is no big deal these days, except that I make sure I am not too far behind him. I was just starting to follow him when I heard the upstairs just explode into wailing and gnashing of teeth.
No but seriously.
Isaac was suddenly crying his loud angry cry at the top of his lungs. And Mikayla (Mikayla?) was shouting something in a very loud, very screechy, unhappy, just-woke-up voice. As I got closer, I could make out words: "NOOOO!!!!! I'M IN HEEEEEERE!!! So apparently, her door wasn't latched, and Isaac crawl-barged straight into her room in the middle of her beauty sleep. Mikayla was literally doing disoriented circles on her big-girl bed, presumably looking for things to throw at her little brother, while yelling at him as ferociously as possible.
I didn't even attempt to reason with her. I grabbed Isaac under my arm and backed out of the door, apologizing profusely to a toddler, praying that she would miraculously lay down and go back to sleep after all the commotion. She stayed in her room. Crisis averted?
Next thing I know (maybe five minutes later?) Mikayla is walking up to me very calmly and cheerfully in the living room. She says, "I got out all the wipes!"
That sounds...not marvelous.
We walked into the kitchen together and she practically did a Price-is-Right hand flourish as she proudly announced, "Look at this mess!" Yup, she was right. The travel wipe container was empty, and scrunched up wipes were everywhere. Don't worry, she helped me put them back, pausing to suck on each and every wipe before I folded it back into the container. "I like these wipes!!"
We're not even to the humble part yet. I know, you're thinking that I am just rocking this momma thing at this point. Patience of a saint and all that. But wait, there's more. Mikayla was due for a diaper change. She's back in cloth diapers, which is a good thing, but as I changed her I noticed that the edging of her cover was pulling away and needed to be re-sewn. We happened to be in the same room as my sewing machine, so I heroically decided to fix it right there and then. Mom of the year! I am on top of things! Redemption is in sight!
Two minutes and about fifteen quick stitches later, I turned back to finish diapering Mikayla. I was, admittedly, feeling a little puffed up due to my impulsive display of domestic prowess. The Lord saw my heart and intervened. No sooner had I plopped Mikayla's freshly diapered hiney onto the repaired cover than I spotted Isaac with a fully saturated wet diaper firmly atop his head.
It's like herding cats some days, folks. You get one sorted out and the other one decides it's just a little too predictable in here. For as disciplined and productive as I believe myself to be most days, the Lord slips these adventures into the midst of things to remind me how very quickly I reach the end of my rope, of my patience, of my cool, of myself. Not a perfect momma over here; not even close. I desperately need my Father's grace to shine through me to my children.
And you know that while I'm sitting here blogging about it, everything is calm and orderly. There's nobody demanding juice or sobbing because he can't get the blue necklace off.
But there are moments that more than make up for the humbling ones. Moments when the Lord so obviously redeems the calling of motherhood and reveals the fruit of this continuous labor. Moments like this:
I don't know for certain whether her little heart is regenerate yet, or will ever be. But I see this evidence of love for God and His Word, and pray daily that it is genuine. And of course, even while Mikayla was reciting her favorite Psalm, Isaac made his way into the trash and tried to eat some. Motherhood is about priorities, isn't it? I'd rather my children dance while they proclaim God's Word than keep their hands out of the garbage. After all, it is not what goes into the mouth that matters to the Lord, but what comes out.
Soli deo gloria!!
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