Thursday, February 12, 2009

Ch 5. The Mommy Diaries

It's been a while, since I made a dent in this book that I've been reading for our MOPS group. I started trying to read the Bible everyday as well as getting caught up on my pregnancy and birth books. So much to read, so little time...
Anyway, the theme of this chapter is Perspective.

1. At what times do you feel you could especially use a dose of perspective in your mothering journey? When I get frustrated with Chris. This morning was a rough morning, he was constantly doing everything BUT what I was asking of him. I'd ask him to get his shoes, and he'd run to the other side of the house and grab a toy and start playing with it. I'm too tired to Chase. Every time I talked to him, he'd growly speak at me. I get so upset and frustrated, exhausted, it's hard to remember how hard I prayed for this, for the privilege of being a parent. His parent. I've prayed so hard for him. We worked so hard to get him to talk and now he grumps and growls at me. Sometimes, I lose the perspective of just being grateful to have him. Then again, sometimes God just plops those moments into my day, to remind me, Thank Goodness.

2. How do you get those doses? If I watch Chris sleep, or during the quiet time when he's at preschool. There have been the rare occasions when we're eating lunch together, the sun streaming brightly through the window, and we're just quietly eating, he'll reach over wordlessly to hold my hand, or just smile at me. Then I remember. Then I say a little prayer, and I'm grateful.

3. Are there practical ways you can schedule little "views from the summit" in your life to help you maintain a sense of purpose and power in the work you do as a mom? I guess, when he's in preschool. Or my MOPS group! It helps to get away for Mom's Night's Out too, because we all kvetch about our situations, and when hearing other mom's troubles, mine don't seem so bad, or I get suggestions on how better to cope.

4. When was the last time someone noticed the hard work you do and commented on it? I was emailing a friend, who is a developmental preschool teacher, and she complimented me, saying how lucky Chris was that I was such an advocate for him. Well, the next day I lost my temper and yelled into his teacher's answering machine for not letting me know there was such a thing as an Alternate schedule on delay days, and I'd been sitting with a boy who WANTED to go to school, and had been arguing with me about it for Days. I think I over-advocated.

5. Can you learn to trust that God--in all his compassion, wisdom, and power--sees a bigger picture than you do and will faithfully bring you to a place of purpose of which you never dreamed? Yup.
I trust the Lord. I know he has great plans for Christopher...he told me so in Jeremiah 29:11.
But it's those day to day moments when Chris exercises his strong will that get a little hard to deal with. I KNOW God doesn't give me more than I can handle. And we've handled it thus far. I guess, I am just expecting it to get easier. Any time now.

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