Mom

13 Weeks old this Sunday! Wow. That blows me away. Being a mom is a full time, all in kind of job. You can't be a mom and be part time; it just doesn't work. Unfortunately there are those out there that try to be part time moms or no time and that is one of the saddest things ever. We are flawed, us humans. There is a part in every mom because of sin nature that would love to just walk away for the day, sit in a bubble bath, drink our coffee while its still hot, and read a book from cover to cover and not think about her screaming babies in the next room. But we can't, so we make plans for Grandma or Auntie to take over for a little while so we can get some relief. Even in that though you don't stop being a mom. It's just not possible. Once, when I was in High school and my brother was in Middle school my mom got so fed up with us. I can't recall what we did or how we were treating her that made her so mad but she was fuming! She actually yelled (which doesn't happen hardly ever) and told us that she quit. She was going to stop doing our laundry, making our meals, packing our lunches, making sure we brushed our teeth and all the other things that come with being a mom of teens. She successfully held back for about a day. :) That day was horrible for my brother and I. We had to do everything for ourselves and we couldn't rely on Mom to pick up the slack. She was done...right? Well, like I said, it didn't last long because she is a Mom to the core and she eventually forgave us and after a long chat we decided that she was right and we were being terrible; placing so many demands on her and requiring them to be done a certain way. SO I resolved to be more helpful and less demanding and I learned something about motherhood that day; even if you say "I quit" you still are MOM it's in everything that you are.

I recently watched the movie "October Baby" which I would recommend to everyone. It's the story of a  young girl who finds out that she is alive only because a nurse in an abortion clinic recognized that her mother was in labor and took her to the hospital rather than allowing the abortion to happen. This powerful story of forgiveness was so moving. I don't want to give away all the details because I think you should just go rent it, but I will say that this story speaks so clearly about what it means to be a parent and the weight of our choices and how those choices affect our children. It also sheds light on the power of forgiveness both in being forgiven and choosing to forgive even if the other party hasn't asked for and/or doesn't "deserve" it. When we realize we have made the wrong choice we must go back and make it right. Here's the beautiful thing; we can't always make it right and that is exactly why Christ died for us. He's already forgiven us and he can take our choice and turn it into something beautiful. When we acknowledge Him as God and trust our lives to him by faith, we can be sure that He will make it right.

The reason I bring up this movie is because it really made me so grateful for my mom and for my kiddos. I was grateful before but this reminded me of why. Life, both big and small, is significant. We all have the ability to give and to receive love; that is a universal language. So lets give it big and when we receive it, lets not run away. Christ loves us even more deeply than the love of a mother or father. So why do we run from that love? Why do we try to ignore it? Like the mom who says 'I quit' yet never stops being mom we can't change who we are and what we were meant to be. We were meant to receive Christ's love, so let's embrace it and stop running away from who we are.