Lessons From the Carpool Line

I am going to be honest, this is a post I really don't feel like writing.  But I definitely don't want to present myself as mom who has it all together, always happy go lucky, making cookies and doing crafts all day long with the kids.  That would not be an accurate portrayal or our life.  Nor would it be a clear picture of how the Lord is continuing to work in my life.

Today was a good day.  Yesterday... that is a whole different story!  I think it is very fair to say that the wheels fell off.  After spending a day with two children on breathing treatments, one who is also on steroids, I had been pushed all the way to my limit.  Considering all things, I had held it together pretty good all day, I was just exhausted.  Things changed in the carpool line.  There is no way around it, I just lost my patience with the child who is "supposed to be easy. " 

The really sad part about the whole thing is that driving to the carpool line I realized things could get difficult (I was heading straight to the grocery store with all three kids) and prayed for the Lord to give me patience.  At the first sign of stress, I did not turn to the Lord.  All I could think was "I cannot believe this is happening.  How could you be acting like this???"  Instead of drawing strength from the Lord, I turned to myself and could not believe how the kids were offending me.

Like I said, today was a good day.  The Lord is very merciful, very gracious and very patient!  This morning I prayed Proverbs 29:25 for the kids, "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe."  And that is when it hit me.  

Yesterday, immediately after the debacle, I was so sad that I responded that way to my children.  How could I loose my patience so easily with my children (I mean, seriously, look how cute these kids are!)?  But this morning I realized how it was possible.  I feared man more than I feared the Lord.  

I was more worried about the people in all the cars behind us in the traffic that we were stopping than I cared about showing my kids the love and the patience that the Lord shows us everyday, even when we mess up (over and over again!).  

As moms, we have to just get over what we think other people might be thinking!  Our number one job is to raise kids who love and fear the Lord.  And the way we do that is to fear the Lord in all of life, especially parenting!  Most of the times it is not ok for the kids to be running up and down the grocery aisles (or holding up traffic).  But sometimes it might be.  What must motivate our responses in those tough situations is not "what other people are thinking" but "how are their little hearts right now."  So easy to say!  So hard to live out day to day!  

My prayer for myself (and all of you) is that I would love God more than I love man.