And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:17 ESV
Here, a no-judging-allowed mothering example:
Can’t believe I am sharing this; some of my closest friends will read this and call me out for not telling them about this earlier, but my pride wouldn’t let me, and to them I apologize…
So here it is. I like to think of myself as the Queen of multitasking in our home {b/c clearly my husband and two year old are not, I kid I kid…} With that said, it was one of those nights that the kids were just off, dinner finished late, baths were cut short and mommy was trying to make too many ends meet too quickly. Normally, after reading and prayer time together, daddy puts our son to bed and I nurse our 7 month old. This night however, my son wanted me to put him down. Well, daddy can’t breastfeed which meant I needed to get the baby down first. Immediately, my mind went full steam ahead as I made a list of what I would need to have both kids satisfied and in bed in the least amount of time possible. While I was laying her on the changing table, and checking off the list in my head, I realized that I had no diapers. Thankfully, we just bought a new box, so I grabbed them…
Bump. Thud. Scream! My husband flies in the room yelling, ‘What happened, what happened?’ I committed the biggest mommy no-no of all time. I let my sweet little chubby dolly face roll right off our changing table, hit a bin on the way down and land on her belly flat on the floor. She was fine, cried for only a minute. I, however, was mortified and cried the rest of the night…
How could I let that happen? I am sure you can imagine the negative self-talk that ensued. Things like:
"I am the worst mom ever."
"I was more concerned with ‘my’ time than her well-being."
"I am never going to be a good mom."
"She is ruined for life!"
The list goes on and on…
I remember thinking that night about how busy I was all day, how I rushed the kids through errands, playtime and dinner, then finally to bed. I remember thinking that there were times in the day that they were laughing together and toddler-talking so sweetly. I missed it. I was just busy. Even though I was there in person, my mind was not. It was as if the Lord allowed her to fall in order to slow me down. ‘Slow down before your slowed down,’ I thought… Although I am terribly sad it happened, I am thankful it did.
Friends, can I encourage you to slow down? This world is moving at a pace that most of us will never be able keep up with. Everyday there is temptation to live fast. We gotta get to work, to the store, to the next cool hang out, run our kids to their games, make the next big opportunity, and buy the next cool thing. Technology does us no favors in that department either- if it’s not a new app, then it’s a new device, if not the device then something else, and we obviously have to keep the pace or forget about it! Don’t get me wrong, none of these things are bad in themselves- it’s our handling of them and their effect on our relationships, that truly is the problem.Sometimes it takes something big to get us to appreciate the small…
Solution?
Like earnest, heart-full-in, make a memory, kind of time. I will be transparent here and say that I have to remind myself to do this almost everyday. Time management and two young kiddos keep this a welcomed challenge.Take time, to give time.
However, when my son says, ‘Mommy look,’ I try harder to have my whole being stop and experience the pretend ice cream he just handed me from the grass pile, or truly see that he is ‘the biggest giant ever’ as he stands on our kitchen chair. Only the Lord knows how many of these beautiful opportunities He will grant me in this life… It is up to me, up to you, to take the time to experience them.
Because Time Never Stops… We Need To Make Our Minutes Matter.
A ‘Minute Meal’ To Keep Those Busy Days From Getting The Best of You!
Easy Peasy Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
I made this for two adults and a toddler. We all had HUGE sandwiches with some to spare. Adjust if needed.1 lbs. Rotisserie Chicken Breasts shredded {Marc’s sells these by their hot whole rotisserie chickens and they are crazy reasonable and super tasty!} 3/4 cup Mayonnaise 4 Celery Stalks chopped 1/2 cup Green Onion chopped 1/2 cup Toasted Almonds 1/4 teas. Pepper dash of Garlic Powder dash of Onion Powder 1 T. Lemon Juice 1/2 T. Yellow Mustard
Toast and Cheddar Cheese {how we ate it and oh so yummy!}
Directions:
Stir all this goodness together in a bowl. Toast some bread. Right out of the toaster throw a piece of cheddar on that bad boy. Slather the chicken salad on top of that and enjoy yourself some deliciousness!
Article originally posted by Josie Valley on Minutes Matter
