A Drink for Weary Moms

Isa. 55:1-3 - Come, everyone who thirsts come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear that your soul may live; and I will make with you and everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

As moms, our lives can and generally do spin into the daily monotony of screaming kids, diaper changes, spilled sticky fill in the blank, dirty dishes, mountains of laundry, cooking, cleaning, and more cleaning as the littles follow you around like an aura of dust and filth, undoing what you just did in 2.61 seconds. Add to that grocery shopping, homeschooling, discipling, gardening, miscellaneous activities, and oh yea, supporting hubby and making him happy too. When we finally get a breather, we are bombarded by picture perfect Pinterest and Instagram houses and families whose kids must not have hands because there is not a fingerprint to be found in their perfect white paradises. Girls, we are drained, exhausted, spinning plates and juggling, and there comes a time when we know we are at the end of our rope. We are out of gas and we're just ready to quit. We don't have the energy to shepherd our children, we'd rather parent from the couch. And romance???? Let's not even go there... LOL! So what do we do?

Our culture tells us that we need more "me time", a girls' night out, a retreat, a vacation, more shopping. While these things are nice and not inherently bad or wrong, they are not what you need. They are not going to sustain you and nourish you much more than a candy bar will. Sure, they may give you a quick burst of energy in the short term, but in the grand scheme of things you will still crash if you are not receiving true nourishment of your own personal time in the Word. What we really need is a change in perspective that comes from drinking from the well of living water found in the scriptures. You see, if we aren't abiding in the true vine (as beautifully illustrated in John 15), our focus gets all out of whack, and we begin to think and act like this life is all about us and our comfort, our ease, and our happiness. And when we come to verses like Luke 17:7-10, we aren't comforted. We look at that servant and think, "Of course I want to come in and relax at the table, but this servant doesn't get to." And ultimately, this servant displays an attitude of humility, recognizing his undeserved gift from the master and a willingness to persevere in serving.

So our first perspective shift comes by knowing WHO GOD IS and WHO WE ARE. It comes in realizing that man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, (Westminster Shorter Catechism #1). Once we realize this by faith, then we also realize the truth and comfort of Matthew 11:28-30  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Now, as you take up the yoke of Jesus, it may be that you are convicted to simplify your schedule, extra activities, or maybe not. But what WILL happen, is that as you go throughout your day, you will realize that you are glorifying God by cleaning the toilet, changing diapers, picking up the toys, cooking the meals, etc.  Instead of these things seeming mundane, now you can realize that you are serving the God who created the universe, the God who sustains each star, the God who formed your inmost being, the God who converted your heart; something that you did not deserve and can never repay. How can you not love and gladly serve such an awesome Savior? The joy of the Lord becomes your strength throughout your day, because you have discovered and abide in your first love. From that joy, you now have strength to serve your husband, your children, your home, and your family in Christ. Because you are drinking from the vine, out of your heart are flowing rivers of living water. Do you see that? Your circumstances didn't change, but by letting the Lord change your perspective, the burden/load/work becomes more joyful, lighter, and you recognize there is a greater purpose which is bigger than you.

The other perspective/focus adjustment I want to address comes from Proverbs 14:4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. There are so many applications in this little nugget of Scripture. Our blessings generally come with responsibilities: no garden - no canning, no chickens - no cleaning the coop, no cattle - no feeding them in the winter, etc... You get the idea. But here's where it hits home to me EVERY TIME: I wouldn't have diapers to change if I didn't have a baby. I wouldn't have shoes laying all over the house if there were no feet to wear them, I wouldn't trip over toys if there were no kids to play with them, I wouldn't have fingerprints to clean up if I didn't have children, I wouldn't have a sink full of dirty dishes if we didn't have food, etc... Do you get the point, Sweet Mom? All of this is so worth the blessing of a home, food, and a family. So the next time you feel frustrated, remember this proverb and let the Spirit speak its truth into your life.  I'm thankful for the dirty diaper because it means I have an Elijah and he eats and is healthy. I'm thankful for the EIGHT pairs of shoes not put away because it means I have many healthy, active children who fill them.  I'm thankful for the sticky fingerprints on the fridge because it means my children have abundant healthy food to eat. I'm thankful for each of these blessings in disguise because by them, the Lord is sanctifying me (Romans 8:28-29).

So weary sisters, come to the fountain of the pure word. Drink and be refreshed! Worship and abide in your creator. Let your focus be fine tuned to your Savior through the Word EACH DAY. There, and no where else and in no one else, you will find rest for your souls.

Baby number seven...

I have been blessed with the BEST family and friends!!!! It has been a whirlwind over the past week and a half but as the light at the end of the tunnel shines through, I am able to reflect on God's goodness and provisions, His trials and His mercies, and His steadfast love and faithfulness in answering prayers.

Last week, a major snowstorm was predicted for our area. I love snow storms, but being due with number 7 at any moment, and knowing how fast my labors can progress, we were concerned about baby picking such a weather pattern to make his/her appearance.  When I woke up Monday morning, it was evident that labor was going to happen within the next couple of days. Since the snowstorm was predicted beginning Monday night, we went to the midwife Monday afternoon who checked our progress and non-medically got our labor started at about 6pm.  Based upon past experience, we figured the baby would be born within a few hours and we could make it home before the snow and wind began. However, that was not to be. Overnight my contractions were 10 minutes apart, but lasted a hard 3 minutes each.... ALL NIGHT!  By morning, I was exhausted and only dilated to a 6.  Had I been in a hospital, I would have asked for an epidural and told them to wake me up when the baby got here. But that wasn't an option. The only option was to keep persevering in my exhaustion through transition. My lifesaver was the jetted tub. This was a new experience for me. The hot, jetted bath did wonders for refreshing my body and spirit and fairly quickly got me through the transitional phase and into the ready-to-push phase.

Then there came the pushing. Again, I am not used to having to push. Only on one of my previous 6 did I have to push and she was "sunny side up".  But pushing on this baby wasn't making any progress. Finally, at 10:26 A.M. on February 4th, Ezekiel Jon was born..... yep, he was sunny side up and he was also cock-eyed in my pelvis.  It just goes to show you what a difference mal-positioning makes on labor progress (15 minutes on baby 6 to 15 hours on baby 7)!  Zeke was 19 1/2 inches long and 6#2oz.

God was faithful in answering all of the prayers that went up for the little guy from the beginning of pregnancy through the birth.  We stayed at the birthing center for just a couple of hours before heading home. The snowfall was already significant, but at least the winds hadn't kicked in yet. It was a slow trip home, but we made it without any mishaps.  As you can imagine, we had quite the welcoming party when we got there: 6 older siblings to welcome the new addition home!

He is the perfect little baby, but unfortunately I wasn't able to fully enjoy his first week as I had hoped.

About day 4 I started having a tooth ache on one of my molars (on baby #5 I had the same thing a few days post partum but it got better).  I did salt water rinses, tea tree oil, thieves' oil, and just about every other home remedy I could research. But the toothache only got worse. By Sunday my lower jaw was swollen and it got worse by Monday. I was crying out in pain (FAR WORSE THAN LABOR)! I thought I was dying.  By Monday evening I wanted to die! I started antibiotics ad stronger pain meds Monday night and by Tuesday I was feeling great. The pain was better, even when the pain meds were wearing off, and I could at least enjoy my newborn again!  However, I looked awful as my jaw was swollen to the size of a baseball. My hubby made me go to the dentist (actually he made the appt. and escorted me there... I would not have called or gone as things were improving). The dentist pulled the tooth..... NOT A PLEASANT OR PAINLESS EXPERIENCE... but at least the problem is taken care of and my swelling is back to normal.

So after a whirlwind of a couple of weeks, life is back to normal! As I reflect, again, I'm reminded about the goodness and faithfulness of our God who has blessed us with great family and friends who have stepped up to help out during this craziness! We have been given great meals and lots of help around the house. Our other kids have also been awesome in pitching in when I was not exactly functioning at a high level.

So as we settle in to our "new normal" of seven kids, we dare not forget to worship and praise our Lord who has blessed us far more abundantly than we could ever ask or hope... even and especially in the midst of trials.