we moms know that ours is a mostly thankless job...but we also know that the 90% of stress and mess is somehow completely and totally worth the 10% of sweetness our children pay us with...when they want to. :)
a beautiful piece of pottery could be easily chipped and broken if not for the blazing fire of the kiln that strengthens and refines it. and we mothers the world over feel chipped and broken on a daily basis, yet it is those very trials that strengthen and refine us. don't we feel so successful when we learn to accept those stumbling blocks as stepping stones?! those fires make us more patient, less judgmental, more tolerant, less critical, more able to multitask, less worried about the details, less structured, more organized, and...sometimes...perfectly fine with being less organized.
when we moms are in the fire, it is usually hard to recognize and value what we are learning. but day by day, all through the problem solving, crisis resolution, mess clean-ups, sleep deprivation, and loving more than we ever thought possible...we are turning into smart, aware, beautifully refined women.
"no pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. it ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. all that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our character, purified our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God...and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation that we gain the education that we came here to acquire."
...orson f. whitney
so forge on, moms! and remember that as we are experiencing the everyday trials of motherhood, those fires are making us shine!!
even 3 year-olds have "refiner's fire" days...
Isn't it interesting as to "how we endure" the refiners fire will be the measure as to what we will learn? Very good Amy Brown. Bring on the fire:) Ok, just kidding about that last sentence...
ReplyDeleteI have long said, "there is nothing in life that has the power to bring us greater joy or heart wrenching sorrow than the actions of our children." Just keep turning in the "fire", it does refine and bless and one day, when all those little people who have no clue what you do or how you do it to make their lives the best, will "rise up and call you blessed" and even THANK you in many ways, great & small for all you did for them. G'ma quotes, "Your kids will drag you, screaming & kicking into the Celestial Kingdom". I believe that's true! For it is only in learning all of the lessons that you have mentioned that the "fire" perfects us.
ReplyDeleteLove you, Sweet Girl!!
Aunt Pat
Amen sista! Today is a refining day for my three year old too!
ReplyDeleteLove it! I find the middle of the nights to be my refiners fire moments...I see Dave painted the rest of the walls in the kitchen:) And was that picture of Ellie posed? Because it seems if she was really that ticked she wouldn't allow a picture to be taken? Either way she's too cute for words
ReplyDeleteif you only knew how many pictures i took before i got one where she wasn't totally hiding her face or moving...not staged, she was grumpy like that all day :)
ReplyDelete