Mom Heart Moments #321

Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

ONE AFTERNOON WHEN I WAS pregnant with Nathan, I poured bubble bath into our double sink with Sarah, four, on one side and Joel, just under two, on the other. I gave them small plastic cups to play with, thinking, This will hold them for at least thirty minutes so I can get a break as I waddled to a nearby chair to watch.

All of a sudden, little Joel stood straight up in the sink. With a huge smile, he screamed in delight and started scooping bubbles and water out of the sink and onto the floor as fast as he could, having a merry old time. He was just being an exuberant, happy little boy.

Something in me burst. I started screaming at him with vein-popping intensity. “What are you doing? You are making a mess all over my floor! Stop it. Don’t you know you are making a mess?” The lecture had evidently been stored up for months.

My stunned, easygoing boy plopped down and looked at me with big, sad eyes and burst out crying, as though I had wounded him for life. Immediately, I felt awful. What had happened to me? Shame poured over me in waves. All afternoon, I shook my head over the incident. How could someone who called herself a mature believer lose it like that?

I prayed desperately that God would help me, and little by little, over the next hours and days and years, He started cultivating in me a philosophy of parenting, motherhood, and home building. I found grace and freedom as I slowly grew. This took years and was never easy. But my home became a place of deep happiness and fulfillment.

Knowing my limitations, God was compassionate towards me, and He still loved me. And so I learned to have compassion on my precious little ones and practiced loving them more each day.

How is the God of compassion inviting you to grow as a mom?