I had a conversation with a young mommy yesterday and she was recounting her previous night.
She realized that she hadn’t read her Bible in quite some time and she missed having some quiet time with the Lord. So, she actually got in bed on time for once and set her alarm for early in the morning so she would be able to read and pray before her kids got up.
As she lay in bed trying to fall asleep, her husband began to snore. She poked him repeatedly until he finally rolled onto his side and stopped snoring long enough for her to begin to relax. Just as she drifted off, she heard a loud crash from the other room. Her son had fallen out of bed. So, she got up and cuddled and soothed him long enough to be able to put him back in bed.
Just as she settled under her covers, her daughter woke up and began yelling at the cat who was chewing on a plastic bag. The tirade continued until mom had to get out of bed yet again and open the door to let the cat out. As she had one foot placed in the direction of her bedroom, her daughter announced that she didn’t feel well and was pretty sure she was going to throw up.
So much for going to bed early to catch up on some sleep!
But, this mom was determined to have some quiet time so she still arose when the alarm went off. Mere minutes later her heart sunk when she heard a bedroom door open. She ran up the stairs and managed to put her son back to bed. As she settled in with her Bible once again, another door opened and little feet pitter-patted down the stairs. At that point she couldn’t help but ask, “Are you freaking kidding me?!”
We laughed together as she told me her story, but memories of raising young kids came rushing back to me. I remember having pretty much no quiet time. It seemed there were no lazy moments to read the Bible or converse with God. There was just chaos and noise and countless mini-disasters all day every day. And, exhaustion. Oh, the exhaustion.
And, no matter how much I DID do in a day, there was: mom-guilt, wife-guilt, daughter-guilt, friend-guilt and, the worst of all, faith-guilt.
But, our God is wise and he is perfect and he knows a mom’s heart. He understands the utter craziness. Yes, he wants to meet with us and he wants to watch our faith and wisdom grow. And, no, he doesn’t want us to just put him on hold. But, he gets it. And, when you live in a time of chaos, I believe he extends you a little grace. So, the least thing we can do is accept it.
“To everything there is a season”. And, the mothering of littles is a season of interruptions, constant demands and very little sleep. But, it is also the season of sticky kisses, dandelion bouquets and a loving and patient God. And, that’s pretty wonderful.
