I discovered my purpose the day that my daughter was born.
I felt such an immense love for her. A love I had never experienced before. I knew at that moment at 6:08am on January 12th, 2001 that she was the reason I was created. I was created to be her mom.
Sixteen years have gone by and my love has not wavered or lessened it has only grown deeper for her. I'm in awe of her. I'm blessed to get a front row view of all the things that God is doing and is going to do in her and through her. She's my beautiful girl inside and out and I'm one proud mom.
In 2004, I did the whole delivering a baby thing again and this time it was a boy. I didn't think I could love anyone as much as I loved Karissa but "boy" was I wrong! My big 8 pound Brayden who was born 7 days early captured my heart that Saturday morning in July. He's my sweet, fun-loving kid and I could never imagine my life without him in it! I sometimes pinch myself...how on earth did I get so lucky?
Well, we all know that it isn't luck. This mom thing as wonderful and beautiful as it is has its moments. And as much as I LOVE being a mom, I'm human and I'm far from perfect and I will make mistakes. However, today I want to share some things that I think do work! Some things that I've learned along the way. Some little "mom nuggets!"
1. LOVE WINS. I know this sounds like a given. Every mom thinks their kids know they are loved. And that may be true and to be honest it's easier when they're little and sitting on your lap to tell them how much you love them. However, I make it a priority to tell my kids how much I love them. How proud I am of them. That there is NOTHING in this world that could ever change my love for them. I tell them that no one will ever love them as much as I do! I know you're rolling your eyes at me!! But ladies and gentlemen it's the honest-to-God truth!!! Besides God, no one will love them as much as I do! And that is a FACT! side note: when my mom passed away in 2009 I hurt immensely and one of the reasons was because I knew that nobody would ever have my back like my mom did. another side note: if you are not on speaking terms with your mom; FIX THAT!! Life is too short and you need to LOVE and respect your mom. You can still have boundaries...but LOVE wins every time!
2. Be REAL and be FLEXIBLE. My kids know that I will always try and keep it real. When they ask me the "hard" questions I try to give them honest answers. And when I don't know the answer, I tell them that. When I was growing up, there was this "my way or the highway" mentality in parenting. I try to be flexible with my kids. Sometimes they ask me if they can do something and my immediate response will be no and other times it's more of "let's talk about it a little more and come to a decision together." I know that doesn't make sense to do with 2 year olds! lol But for those that are parenting teens or preteens, I feel like this type of parenting earns mutual respect.
3. Spend QUALITY time with your children. My mom was really good at this one. Her love language was quality time so it came easy for her. She would call the school and tell them I had an appointment and then take me to lunch or we'd go shopping and have a girls day, etc... Quality time is not my love language so it is something I have to be purposeful about. There are so many things pouring into your children; social media, friends, television, teachers... the list goes on and on... you're not going to be the ONLY voice in their ears just be the LOUDEST voice in their ears! I cannot stress how important this one is.
4. Let your ACTIONS speak louder. Ok, I'm not going to lie...this one is the hard one. I think we can all agree that our end goal is to raise good, God-loving human beings that will contribute to our world in a positive way, that will have fulfilled their God-given purpose while here on earth, that will have used all of the talents and gifts they were given to further God's kingdom...
So my question would have to be are you modeling that for your children? What you "do" is so much more impressionable than what you "say." Lead by example.
5. Pray, pray and pray some more. We can't be with our kids 24/7 but God can. There is something really special about a mother's prayer. God has spared my life of many things because of my mother's prayers. I believe that with all of my heart. Prayer is my super power. :)
Thank you for letting me share my two cents!
To all my friends who are Mothers I applaud you, I have mad respect for you, I'm cheering you on!! To all of the "mom influences" I've had and currently have in my life, I thank you. To all of my friend's whose moms are in heaven, I pray that God wraps his loving arms around you and gives you the strength not just on Mother's day but every day.
From this momma to you, Happy Mother's Day!
xoxo
Delilah
No comments:
Post a Comment