Monday, February 28, 2011

Patient Mothering


Love is patient, love is kind...
1 Corinthians 13:4

   This verse is often found in wedding cards... it is spoken as advice to the bride and groom as they set off to start life as husband and wife.... I have never heard it at a baby shower.

   Not once did anyone ever come to visit me at the hospital and tell me that loving this sweet little bundle would involve patience beyond any of my own capabilities.

 Quite honestly I'm not qualified to give any of you advice on patience.  In fact (confession time) I have used a not so loving or patient voice with my children more times than I have paid attention to today.  I have longed to slip away to a quiet alone place where nobody is speaking in a strange preschool pretend language... where there is no toy clutter and nobody will ask me for anything.

   So this must be a message from God to me that I will make public just in case you can glean from it as well.

Patient - –adjective
bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like. (source Dictionary.com)
 
Yikes!  That is a big bite to chew.   Let's just say calm and without complaint are not part of my current character.  

 But I can change.  I can become disciplined in patience.  I have someone who will bear my burdens (provocation, annoyance...etc) for me.  With the simplest and hardest action on my part I can trade my yoke with Jesus, then my load is light.

I just have to ask... and then let Him... and then repeat... because there will come more annoyance, more hardship.  My God is big enough to handle it all though and forgive me when I slip up and decide to carry my own load in an impatient way.  

Mom's we need to be gentle with ourselves and just as we forgive our children for disobedience and tantrums we need to forgive ourselves too.  

When the outbursts come, remember to humble yourself and ask your child for forgiveness.  Then let it go. Pray and start fresh. Take your worries that you have emotionally scarred your child to God who can heal all pain.  Then walk out the rest of the day with patience and kindness.

3 comments:

Christine said...

Yes! Thank you for this reminder today, Sarah! I have a 3 yo who is a bear due to storms rolling through last night and keeping him from sleeping. I am responsible for my reactions to his tantrums. :)

Christy Killoran said...

Beautiful. I have been so irritable lately, I needed this.

Holly said...

Oooh, Sarah, thank you for this! I battle with patience everyday. It can be so hard!

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