Early to bed, early to rise. What a novel idea, but not a reality in my house. With 6 children to homeschool I find myself burning the midnight oil. If I want to spend time with the Lord alone, I must get up by 6am. Spending that time with Him is critical if I want to be full of the spirit for all He has planned for me that day. So, by 2pm the caffeine from my morning coffee has warn off and I'm tired. A lot of days I'll just get through without feeling tired, but today I was exhausted.
School was finished and the sun was out, I decided the kids could all go outside to play while I took a brief nap. I announced to them that Mommy was going to be in bed, please do not disturb me. They seemed to have acknowledged that. Ahhh, there I was melting into my down pillow, snuggled into my warm blanket, ready to snooze away. Suddenly the phone rang. Ok, it was an important call and once taken care of it was back to resting. The phone rang 2 more times!! Why don't I learn to take the phone off of the hook? Now I was sure I could finally rest. Then it happened, my son came into my room. I felt myself getting angry. So many distractions and I was so tired. I wish that I had handled it better, but I didn't. Without even opening my eyes I just said,(in a not so nice tone) "What do you want, can't you see that I'm trying to sleep?" To that my sweet 7 year old son said, "I just wanted to bring you this daisy I found outside. I think it's the last one in the whole yard and I knew you'd like it." OUCH! How could I have lost it with someone who just wanted to bring me joy?
Thankfully, children are very forgiving (they must have learned this from their Heavenly father). I thanked him for the beautiful gift and he went back outside. At this point I got up to write my blog.
I have to remember that when I allow anything to come before people then it's considered an idol and it's a sin. In the future, I'll try to remember that distractions will come, and there's no reason to allow myself to become angry. Some might even be precious memories just waiting to happen.
Dear God, please forgive me for allowing my own fleshly desires to take precedence over being kind and loving to my own children. Please teach me to be ready to show love at all times. Amen.
Proverbs 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit is better than he who takes a city.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Confessions of a Mother
Posted by Sonya Lee Thompson at 6:00 AM
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9 comments:
Wow - we've all been there! Nothing is worse than being exhausted while trying to care for our children.
What a blessing your son is. Really special. Cherish that moment.
Oh, mothering is so hard when you are tired! Sleep is a precious thing. May we all recieve a bit of rest this weekend! Thanks for reminding us to keep it all in perspective, keeping an eye out for the divine appointments God has in store for us!
Hi Sonya,
I'm so glad you found my blog yesterday. I'm really enjoying yours. I really related to this post! Being deprived of a nap is so, so hard....especially when you've already gotten in bed. : )
My husband and I stayed up late last night talking about our adoption plans. I think we will be back on track with those plans very soon.
Also, I wanted to let you know I will be doing another Within One Week carnival next week if you wanted to play along with us this time.
Please come and visit again!
God Bless,
<>< Becky
Hi mom
I like this one, Daniel is so sweet. He sometimes brings me flowers too. I cold never ask for a better brother.
love ya
Brittany~
Heavens...I'm just exhausted by reading your profile!!!
Where do you find the time or the "want to" to do all that you do? I have four children (19, 16, 7,5), and no...I don't homeschool. I can't imagine shouldering that kind of weight, but I understand why you do it.
Our kids attend a Christian school, but I'm contemplating homeschooling one of them next year. I've done it in the past and was hoping not to revive my teaching credentials, but sometimes, our kids need that extra tlc that they rarely receive in the classroom.
Anyway, thanks for visiting my blog. I pray that God gives you the wisdom, the strength, and the ever-lasting patience that you need to not only survive, but also to thrive in your doing!
Be blessed.
peace~elaine
Hi Sonya, I found you by way of Elaine's blog... Wow, you are one busy lady! (It's no wonder you were in need of a nap!) We all have times where we regret how we react with our kids. What a sweetheart you have in that little guy. = ) Hang in there. Hope this weekend is a restful one for you.
Blessings,
Tracy
God knows just how to convict our hearts and provide those teachable moments of reprioritizing, huh?
I've felt the same at times...I have my list of things to do and feel irritated to be interupted.
Don't you just love thos reality checks that the Lord sends our way?
Blessings
Sharon
Yikes - that one really hit home for me... I am going to try to keep this in mind! I tend to get very tired in the afternoons as well, and I never realized how much I am letting it affect my children. Thank you!
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