Mommy Needs a Verse

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I Corinthians 13:4

I've been trying really hard to get my boys back into our pre-pregnancy routine.  Unfortunately, this is much harder than I imagined.  Mainly, because now there's four of us at home during the day, and our newest addition maintains her own elusive schedule.  Just when I think I've got her figured out, she pulls something crazy and insists on being held all day long.  Managing three children under the age of 5 is harder than it looks.  And even when we act like it's easy, us moms aren't always being honest. Many kudos to those of you who manage more than three children in your posse!

During pregnancy, my temper flared up a lot.  I was hoping this was just related to me being sick, having out of control hormones, and having two little boys destroy my house at the same time.  Well, these days I'm feeling great, the hormones seem to have tapered off, and my house is back in it's proper state (for the most part).  Unfortunately, I find that my quiet and gentle spirit has not magically returned.  Okay, maybe I never actually attained the quiet and gentle spirit in the first place, but the struggle to be that kind of woman has not gotten any easier by adding another sweet baby into the mix.  And of course, when mommy is stressed and crazy, so are her babies--especially the oldest!

As the Mommy, my job is to teach my children how to live, love, and obey.  Whether I like it or not, they mimic my behavior and repeat my words.  Thus, how I behave and speak and demonstrate love in my home is really important.  This also means that I have to control my temper.

I've quickly realized that I need some Mommy verses to meditate on when the smoke is ready to seep from my ears and I think I can spit fire.  (There's nothing worse than a Mommy dragon.)  So right now I'm focusing on I Corinthians 13.  I memorized this passage for the first time in elementary school and have heard it read over and over again.  But this year, I'm clinging to it as my mommy chapter. So if you see me and I'm starting to turn red and you think I'm going to blow, please remind me that "love is patient and kind" and that I need to spend some time with I Corinthians.  

After all, I Corinthians tells us that if we speak the right talk but don't have love, we are like "a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."  And as every mother knows, the last thing I need or want in my home these days is unnecessary noise from a clanging cymbal!