My Life – Devoted Motherhood

December 31, 2021December 31, 2021

My Word of the Year 2022

a few words about

My Word of the Year
2022

Covid fatigue. Are you feeling it?

For something that once held so much promise, 2021 just seemed to be a repeat of 2020 all over again. Between lockdowns and mandates, I think we can all agree that we are tired. The life that we once knew pre-2020 still is just a shadow of the past, and it’s hard to find joy when we are constantly bombarded with depression, division, and death everywhere we look.

But joy is a choice.

You know how when you feel when you get off of one of those carnival rides that spins round and round and round? That’s how I could feel right now, but instead I’ve chosen to fix my eyes on the One thing that isn’t changing or moving: God. He is the Rock on which I’ve anchored my soul. So even when all the world seems to be spinning out of control, I can look to Jesus and find my bearings. Just like when you are on that carnival ride and fix your eyes on a single point so that you don’t loose your cookies, the swirling, out-of-control feelings dissipate as I look on my Savior.

So even though the world around me seemed to be spinning out of control, I chose to dig in and live devotedly to the things that mattered most during 2021: my relationship with God, my family and my friends.

I recently read a quote, “If it doesn’t matter for eternity, it doesn’t matter.” I can’t for the life of me remember who said that, but it really stuck with me.

I tend to be someone who easily gets caught up in trying to be the best at everything, and when I fall short (which is inevitable) I can be pretty hard on myself… especially when it comes to being the best mom I can be. That pile of laundry on my laundry room floor? It’s driving me a bit batty… but it doesn’t matter for eternity. Holding my clingy, cranky, teething baby has FAR more eternal rewards than making sure that the clothes are folded and put away.

God doesn’t ask for perfection. He asks for faithfulness.

In my zeal for bringing my children to Christ, sometimes I put myself in the way. While pondering the concept of faithfulness over perfection, I had the realization that when I demand perfection of myself, I am trying to put myself in Jesus’s place. He is the only One who can and has lived a perfect life. When I try to be perfect, really I am trying to replace Christ and “do it by my own self” as my 3 year old would say. Does that mean I don’t need to try my best and improve? Absolutely not! But it does mean that my perspective shifts and I ask myself, “Does this matter for eternity?”

Between self-imposed perfectionism and a world that seems to get crazier by the minute, it’s easy to lose my focus on the eternal, and if I’m not careful, I can let it rob me of my joy. But as I said before, JOY IS A CHOICE!

Happiness changes with circumstances, but joy is something that can not be taken from me because the JOY of the Lord is my strength.

So this year, I am choosing JOY!

I want to smile more. Laugh more. Dance more.

I want to let go of unrealistic expectations. Let go of uncertainty. Let go of doubt.

When I walk into a room, I want my joy to be contagious and leave others feeling stronger, happier, more peaceful because they see someone who knows where her source of strength comes from: the Lord!

I want to have a heart overflowing with praise and gratefulness. I want to have lips that sing my thankfulness to the God of heaven and earth.

Despite the tears and sadness that are sure to come because we live in a broken world, I choose joy. It will be my source of strength in the hard times and bubble over in laughter and singing when my heart is light.

Joy… the world needs more joy. REAL joy. The kind that isn’t determined by circumstances, but the kind that is firmly fixed in Jesus.

So this year, I’m anchoring my soul to the source of joy… Jesus!

check out previous
Words of the Year

My Word of the Year 2021
My Word of the Year 2020
My Word of the Year 2019
My Word of the Year 2018
My Word of the Year 2017

Looking for something specific? Look here!

January 2, 2020January 3, 2021

My Word of the Year 2020

The past few days I’ve been trying on words like I would a new shirt in the fitting room. Each word fit right in certain places, accentuating certain aspects of my life, but none of the words I ‘tried on’ seemed to embody all the right areas. Like a shirt that has a great color but fits way too tightly in the hips, each word wasn’t what I wanted to bring home with me.

Then this morning as I read through my devotions, I picked up Mom Heart Moments by Sally Clarkson, and a word jumped off of the page and settled into the soft soil of my mother-heart. As I let it settle there, I felt it begin to take root and grow.

Cultivate.

Every goal that I have planned for this year has a purpose. I don’t want to read through my Bible this year for the purpose of saying that I did it, but rather to cultivate wisdom and a closer relationship with God. In doing so, I’m cultivating my heart and mind to be fixed on things above and to bring a true, honest, just, lovely and good report to my family.

I’m not working towards simplifying our home to be ‘trendy,’ but because I want to cultivate an environment of peace and joy. I don’t want things and schedules to take away from moments of connection and to create stress and business for no purpose.

Life ebbs and flows. There will be times of business, times of routine, and times of rest, and if I am cultivating a rhythm of simplicity and intentionality, those times will be filled with peace and joy unspeakable. The ‘stuff’ will be out of the way and the people and relationships will blossom. Even the hard, messy times are cultivating the soil for growth and connection.

When we strip away the distractions, we are able to cultivate wonder. In 2020, I have a goal to get my kids outside for 1000 hours. This is a lofty goal that isn’t meant to cause stress, but rather having something to press towards. Just as we are to ‘press toward the mark’ in our Christian walk because of the joy it brings us to reach for the best God has for us, we can pursue 1000 hours outside not for recognition or a certificate of completion but because we want to cultivate wonder, curiosity, and time with the Creator.

This year I don’t just want our family to grow, I want to cultivate a place we can THRIVE.

Not just happy but joy-FULL.
Not just be but becoming.
Not just here but present.
Not just grounded but blooming.
Not just see but experience.
Not just think but wonder.
Not just hear but listen.
Not just do but do for God’s glory.

These years are precious. Will you join me in cultivating your home to bring praise and honor His Holy Name?

Have a blessed 2020!

My Word of the Year 2019
My Word of the Year 2018
My Word of the Year 2017

January 8, 2019January 8, 2019

Peace – more than just a word

For the past few years, I’ve been choosing a word of the year. This word is something that I want to define my year. It’s something I feel that God has given me to strive for and meditate on throughout that year.

If you read my blog post at the beginning of 2018, you know that I wasn’t really sure what my word would be, but as I began to type and scripture verses came to mind, the word “peace” settled onto my heart. I thought it was supposed to be about speaking “peace” into my household… and in some respects it was… but I did not realize just how important that word would be for our family in 2018.

In February, my husband underwent an 8 hour surgery that involved his ear and brain. Despite not knowing the outcome, as I walked the halls of the hospital… I had peace.

Then when we welcomed our 3rd beautiful baby into the family, I could have been nervous about the transition (and to some extent I was), but there was an overwhelming peace in knowing that God picked that precious little soul just for us. Throughout the pregnancy, I prayed continuously that her addition would be a JOY to our family… and it was!

Just when we felt like life was starting to get back to a little bit of “normal” after my husband had recovered from his surgery and the new addition to our family started sleeping a little better, the hammer fell. Seemingly out of nowhere, my mother-in-law passed away.

Despite the fact that she suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis, was in pain from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet daily and battled infections that would make most people unbearable to be around… she remained positive and always had a smile on her face. We didn’t know how bad it really was.

Early one morning, the infection that was in her leg attacked her weak and weary heart. She had fought for so long that her heart just couldn’t handle the pain any more… and our sweet mommy passed away.

This blow rocked our family. She was the heartbeat of the home. She was the one who planned every get-together, every holiday, every thoughtful gift. She was the one who was always a listening ear for the good as well as the bad. She was a wealth of wisdom because she read her Bible and prayed fervently every day. She was a warrior…

… and our God is a God of peace. She may have been the heartbeat of our family, but she was NOT what tied us all together. God was… God is!

We cried together. We prayed together. We loved on each other. We clung to our God. We asked for peace in the storm… and he gave it to us. Did it numb the pain? No. But it made it bearable. It gave us comfort knowing that we would see her again some day. It gave us strength when we had to walk the long aisle to say our last goodbyes. It gave us hope for tomorrow. Peace.

The next week… her mom died. At 99 years old, she left earth to spend eternity with her daughter walking the streets of gold. She may have lived a good, long life, but death is never easy.

One week later… my grandpa passed away. As he entered the last days of his life, he was able to hold my hand and tell me he loved me. Despite seeming to be losing his ability to recognize people, he held my daughter and told her, “I love you Cora.” My mom sat and sang him hymns as he fought for his last breaths here on earth, and when he was no longer with us… we cried. Then we laughed remembering that big teddybear of a man. Boy could he tell the best stories! You never knew if they were true or not until he got to the punchline.

Three deaths in three weeks. It would be fair if we let death define our year… and yet our year was marked with a peace that passes understanding instead.

As we sing, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say… it is well, it is well with my soul,” we smile… because we now know exactly what that peace really means.

“You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Isaiah 26:3

January 1, 2019January 3, 2021

My Word of the Year 2019

Another year has come to a close. A year of unimaginable loss. A year of new life. A year of adjustments. A year of sacrifice. A year of collected moments.

When you experience life and death, you begin to realize the fragility of these days and years. As I watch my newborn baby turn more into toddler than baby, I see the days slipping by and realize that time is a thief, and as I remember my sweet mother-in-law, grandfather, and my husband’s grandmother, I am reminded to seize the day… we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

We are not guaranteed today… only this moment… and this one… and this one.

What am I going to do with this collection of moments I’ve been gifted? Am I going to live them to the fullest? Will I embrace the chaos, the love, the good, the bad, the ugly? Will I allow my heart to swell with the grace that has been shown to me and in turn show grace to those around me? Will I put down my distractions and embrace the beauty before my eyes? Will I be more present, more joyful, more intentional?

Intentionality.

That is my mantra for this new year…. Intentionality. I will be more intentional in my personal habits. I will be more intentional in the habits we are forming as a family. I will be more intentional in letting go of “what I want” and embracing what I’ve been given. I will be more intentional with my health: spiritually, physically, and mentally. I will be more intentional with my time, with my money, with my talents. I will prioritize my life in a way that only what is true, noble, right, lovely, excellent and praiseworthy are at the forefront of my thoughts and actions.

I will live in today. In THIS moment.

I will read a good book. I will snuggle my children. I will go on dates with my husband. I will pray more fervently. I will not allow that chaos of raising young children to steal my joy. I will laugh more, love more, sing more.

None of this is easy. Intentionality is not easy. There will be days that I will forget. There will be days that I get caught up in meaningless tasks and forget to love above all. There will be seasons that laughter and thankfulness won’t come easily.

But I will intentionally STRIVE for these things. I will seek God. I will allow his grace to fill me when I make mistakes. I will forgive others. I will forgive myself.

I will live 2019 intentionally. I will be a moments collector. I will live life as it was meant to be lived… with purpose.

My Word of the Year 2018
My Word of the Year 2017

August 28, 2018August 28, 2018

The Valley of Weeping

Dear mama,

I see you.

I see those tears that you shed over a sleepless night. I see those tears running down your cheeks as you talk to the Lord about your frustrations and desires. I see those tears of joy as you watch your child take his first step. I see those tears of aching as you drop your child off for his first day of school. I see those tears of pride as you watch your child walk down the aisle in her wedding dress. I see your tears of wonder as you hold your newborn grand baby in your arms.

I see you… because I’ve shed some of those same tears.

Too often we chide ourselves for being “silly” and wishing we were stronger. We brush away the silent tears that sneak down our cheeks and hope that no one saw. We cry out to God with groans of sadness over the sins of a child. Our pillow absorbs the silent tears that we cry at night because we feel like we aren’t good enough, haven’t done enough, said something we shouldn’t have, acted in anger and frustration.

But sweet mama… those tears aren’t for nothing.

You are filling your well.

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee: in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well.”
Psalms 84:5-6a

We all have our “valley of Baca” or our time of weeping.

But did you know dear mama that when the Lord is your strength and your heart desires the things of the Lord, your crying is filling a well?

Those tears aren’t just an outpouring…they are a filling.

They are filling your heart with a peace that passes understanding. They are flooding heaven with prayers of a sincere and honest heart. They are filling the space where words fail us. They are our memories floating down the river of time. They are the desire and emotions of a mother’s heart that fill our children with security, love and joy.

Your tears are not wasted… they are filling the well of life.

We pour out so much of ourselves. We grow weary. But it’s in those moments of weakness that we realize our own strength is insufficient. We let go of our selfish desires. We re-evaluate, re-commit, re-energize.

We pour out our sadness. We pour out our joy. We pour out our hurt. We pour out our emotions.

And in turn, we are filled with more of the Lord.

Weeping may come for the night, but joy will come in the morning. Pass through that valley of Baca, but don’t stay there. Fill your well and then use it to bless others.

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee.”
Psalms 30:11-12a

Why do we cry? So that we can better praise the Lord. We can sing of his mercies, his grace, his peace. We can tell others of his great love and unending joy. We can speak of his countless blessing, of his immeasurable grace, his physical provision.

Weep and fill your well. Then lower that bucket, scoop up the living water, and share it with others.

June 30, 2018July 2, 2018

The Read Aloud Mom

Five years ago, when my son was only a few months old, I decided we needed to get out of the house. It had been a long winter with a newborn and spring was just starting to stretch it’s fingers into frozen Michigan. Armed with coats, blankets, a baby and a book under my arm, I marched out into our yard.

As I spread the blanket across the ground, the grass was just starting to turn from brown to green. The tree we were laying under was beginning to shoot forth tiny buds that would quickly turn into leaves of shade for me and my son. Birds that had been gone for months were beginning to return and their lovely song could be heard despite the still chilly temps. Life was beginning to bloom again… and little did I know it, life for us was starting to awake to something beautiful as well!

If people could have seen me, they probably would have thought I was crazy. Here I was laying on the ground with my tiny human who only a few weeks before would have been considered a newborn and I was opening The Book of Virtues. If you’ve never seen this book, I can only liken it’s size to that of the Bible or a dictionary or a commentary. It’s massive. Definitely not something you would think of reading to a young child.

But here I was reading a book with no pictures to my son. I knew he still couldn’t see much at this age, but I knew he could hear my voice. And so it was that over the next several months, I read him things like excepts from The Declaration of Independence, letters from Martin Luther King Jr., stories about Thomas Edison and countless poetries.

He would lay there and watch the branches of the tree dance above him and coo quietly. From the day he was born, everyone said he was an old soul, wise beyond his years. When he looked at you, it was as if he was looking into your soul, like he could see something inside of you that even YOU didn’t know existed.

At the time, I didn’t know that the 1985 Commisssion of Reading declared, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.” All I knew was that it seemed natural to me to read to my child. I felt it bonded us in a way that nothing else could.

Here we are 5 years later and I’m still reading… only now I’m reading to 3 kids. Sometimes they snuggle up with me. Sometimes they are playing quietly. Sometimes we TRY to read, but the wiggles don’t permit it. Sometimes we have great discussions about what we have read.

I recently learned that what I have found natural has a name:
– Reading our devotionals and memorizing scripture over breakfast is called a “Morning Basket.”
– Reading stories to my kids during lunch is called “Lunchtime Literature.”
– Reading books before bed is called a “Bedtime Story.”

I didn’t know these were “things.” I just simply did them because there was a bond for me and my children when we read! When conversations during dinner were taking a “less than pleasant” turn with body noises, laughter and not enough eating… I would pull out a book and begin to read. The kids would start eating and listen as I turned page after page. When the kids are overly tired and need to wind down for a rest time, I pull out a snack and a book and we unwind with our imaginations soaring to distant places.

Almost always when I put a book down, my kids beg for me to read another chapter or another book. I hope they always want to listen to mommy read. Even if they don’t, some of my fondest memories of motherhood so far involve a lap full of children and a book in my hands.

I recently picked up the book The Read Aloud Family, and while I haven’t finished it yet… I’m devouring it! Rather than showing me how important reading can be, its affirming what I already subconsciously knew… That reading to your children isn’t just about teaching them or making them smarter, it’s about creating a bond and making memories that last a lifetime.

“Reading aloud with our kids is indeed the best use of our time and energy as parents. It’s more important that just about anything else we can do.”
The Read Aloud Family

April 2, 2018

Anticipating change

I have so many thoughts swirling through my head right now. Seriously, I’ve started 3 different blog posts on 3 TOTALLY different topics. I seem to start one and then find my mind landing on another path and soon I’m following that rabbit trail. Maybe it’s the pregnancy. Maybe it’s God’s leading. Maybe it’s just my way of getting what’s in my heart onto paper… a way of hashing out my thoughts.

But here I am less than two weeks from delivering our third baby. I feel like I should be preparing. I should be making meals, packing a hospital bag, or organizing closets. I could read all the “how to prepare for baby” posts on Google, but instead I find myself oddly… normal.

I vacuumed my floors like I always do on Mondays. I started our laundry… another Monday routine. I sat and watched the kids dig in the garden as I read my devotional book. I pulled the neighbor out of the mud (Thank goodness for a Gator with a winch!). I cleaned the kitchen, started the dishwasher and picked up the table. I made lunch like I always do and pulled meat out of the freezer for dinner. I put the kids down for their rest times, and here I sit.

Big changes seem to be like this. You FEEL like you should be doing something, but really, what is there to do? You anticipate the change, but then all of a sudden it’s here and life moves on. Life doesn’t stop for how you FEEL, and pretty soon you have a new normal.

I have moments where my heart starts to beat a little faster as the thought of going through labor crosses my mind. I have moments where I think, “Oh my goodness… we’re about to be outnumbered!” I have moments where I’m frantically cleaning all the bathrooms just in case baby decides to come today.

But then… I just shrug. It’s coming sooner or later. Change is like that.

Don’t get me wrong. I think we SHOULD prepare for change the best we can… but the worry… the fear… the uneasy feelings that sometimes surround change… those aren’t godly. “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” I do not need to “be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”

Normal. God calls me to MY normal. I’m doing what I should be doing… preparing the best I can, taking a few extra moments to hold my “babies,” and continuing to do what God has called me to do (take care of my family).

We’ll do our grocery shopping tonight as a family, and if baby decides to come before then… thank goodness for Shipt shoppers!!

Until then… I’m enjoying the last few days of THIS normal and hope to embrace the NEW normal with open arms!

February 20, 2018February 20, 2018

Pardon the interruption

“She delighted in seeing her plan upset by unexpected events, saying that it gave her great comfort, and that she looked on such things as an assurance that God was watching over her stewardship, was securing the accomplishment of His will, and working out his own design.”
~ Janet Erskine Stuart

Interruptions.

I’m fairly certain that the life of a mother is just a series of interruptions. Heaven forbid you try to make a phone call. It’s inevitable that as soon as you hit “dial” the noise level in your house escalates several decibels. You THOUGHT the kids were playing nicely, but as soon as the operator on the other end answers after a 30 minute wait time, one of your kids takes a toy away and the other child is thrown into the pits of despair that results in shrieks that only hawks can replicate. You find yourself apologizing to the person on the phone and locking yourself in the bedroom trying to find a quiet place to talk. Pretty soon you see little fingers digging under the door and hear loud pounding and “Mommy!! Where are you!?!” (You THOUGHT the locked bedroom door would be obvious enough?!)

You’ve spent the morning frantically cleaning your house because the kids are playing nicely together. You are several months pregnant and find yourself exhausted. As you sit down for the briefest of seconds, one of your kids brings you a book and climbs into your lap. All you wanted was a few minutes to sit by yourself and scroll through social media for a moment, but instead you find yourself reading “Horton Hears a Who” for the 10th time that day.

After successfully getting both kids ready for the day, fed, clothed, and bathed… and you’ve done it all with a smile on your face. You decide to reward your efforts by sneaking a few chocolate chips from the cupboard. You look around and take in your surroundings. The coast is clear. You open the cupboard, pour a few chocolate drops of heaven into your hand and your heart is struck with sheer terror. “Mommy, what are you eating?” You are tempted to tell them “Nothing” and gulp down the chocolate chips as fast as you can, but you are teaching your children not to lie… so you fess up and share a few chocolate chips with your kids. How can they not hear you ask them to pick up their room, but manage to hear the rustle of a bag of chocolate chips through 4 walls and a closed door is astonishing!

You are just about to hop in the shower for a few brief moments of “you” time. Just as you get undressed and are about to step into the shower, the doorbell rings. Family has stopped in to say hi and of course your 5 year old has answered the door already having seen who was there.

Interruptions.

They are a part of life.

As I read the quote from Janet Erskine Stuart, I was struck by the phrase “God was watching over her stewardship.” It is my responsibility to take care of my family the best that I can. I make my plans. I try to keep my house clean. I try to put healthy, hearty food on the table to nourish my family. I try to teach my children throughout the day. I try to fit in time to work out. I try to find time to do my devotions and pray on a regular basis. I try to get enough sleep so that I don’t walk around like a zombie the next day… but what if I don’t view the interruptions as “plan ruiners” but rather as a way of letting God determine my stewardship. Maybe taking the time to read to my child is far more important in building a relationship with them than me trying to keep my sanity with a few moments of peace. Maybe having to fess up to sneaking a few chocolate chips gives me an opportunity to teach my children the importance of honesty and sharing. Maybe having to apologize and hang up the phone so I can patiently and lovingly correct my children is more important that trying to ask about a bill payment. Maybe that shower really isn’t as important as showing love and grace to a family member, or MAYBE that family member might just be YOUR saving grace and play with the kids so you CAN jump in the shower for a few moments without little people staring at you.

Maybe if we viewed each interruptions as God’s way of directing our stewardship, we would find ourselves more joyful. THAT moment is more important that what I WAS going to do. God brought that “interruption” into my life because that is what he wanted me to do/learn in that moment.

you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:14-15

February 19, 2018

If You Teach a Kid to “Donut”

This past week we focused on the letter “D” by reading If You Give a Dog a Donut… over… and over… and over again! My kids LOVED this book and asked to read it multiple times a day.

Tangent: If you are looking for a great time to read to your kids, breakfast and lunch is an amazing time! Keep a pile of books on your table and work your way through them while your kids eat (Of course make sure you are taking bites between pages… mama needs to be nourished too!!). This is always the time that we read our books for school and do devotions together.

So of course, because we were reading If You Give a Dog a Donut, we just HAD to make homemade donuts!

After looking up a recipe and settling on a glazed donut recipe from The Pioneer Woman that Bless This Mess shared (You can’t go wrong with The Pioneer Woman… can I get an “Amen?”), we started the process of making donuts! What I did not realize was the valuable life lessons that we would learn along the way.

Hurry up and wait.

Waiting is not an easy thing to do… especially for little kids. We live in the day of instant gratification. Want to watch a new movie? You don’t even need to go to a movie store any more; it’s available for download online! Hungry? Go to the fridge/cupboard and grab a snack; there’s no need to prep food… the prep has been done for you. Thirsty? Clean water is available at the flick of the wrist and the water faucet is on. We are in the day of the internet, TV dinners, fast food, and convenience stores.

My children thoroughly enjoyed making the dough for the donuts. Flour was everywhere, ON everyone/everything, but there were smiles on each face… until I told them the dough had to chill overnight. What? We can’t fry these now? According to the recipe, for best results the dough needs to chill for 8+ hours. Hmmmmm…

The next day, we rolled the dough out, cut out the donuts and then… time to wait again… the dough needs to rise for at least an hour. Sigh. All we wanted was a donut!

Finally, the oil was brought to temperature, the donuts were dropped in and moments later, we were rewarded with hot, delicious, melt in your mouth glazed donuts. My mouth is watering as my mind remembers the sweet smell of fresh donuts cooling on a wire rack.

Who knew making donuts would be such a valuable life lesson for my kids? Good things come to those who wait. Nothing is worth doing unless it is done right. Things take time and effort. Not everything is instant… sometimes we have to wait.

Over the next few days, I found myself thinking about the whole donut making process… amazed at how something so simple as making donuts could teach us so much! As I sat putting my toddler down for a nap, the thought crossed my mind:

If you give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day; if you teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

That’s what my job as a parent is… to teach my kids to “fish” or in this case to “donut.” It’s my responsibility to equip them with life skills that will make them successful in life. I’m not just filling their mind with knowledge. I’m filling their mind with wisdom, and in this instance… I am teaching them to wait.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalm 27:14

February 18, 2018December 13, 2020

Holy Batman! My “baby” is 5

I’m pretty sure whoever came up with celebrating birthdays didn’t take into account a mother’s heart. Birthdays should just be passed over without ever mentioning it. Maybe… just maybe… if we didn’t celebrate it, our babies would stay little forever. Maybe…

But alas, whether we like it or not, our babies somehow turn another year older, and here I am celebrating my little superhero’s 5th birthday. His golden birthday. Five on the 5th. Somehow 5 seems like a big birthday to me. It’s like my son went to bed a little boy and woke up more mature, more like his daddy, more like the man that I can see emerging from inside that little boy body.

Normally birthday parties for us include a fun celebration with family, but because 5 is so special, he was able to invite a few friends over. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched this little “man” play with his friends. He was appropriately thankful while opening presents. He was gracious and thoughtful while thanking his daddy and me for all the work we put into the party. He was exuberant as he ran breathlessly around outside, laughing and spraying his friends with silly string. He’s still a little boy… but the view of the man he is going to be is becoming more and more clear.

He is a superhero!

“Mommy, do you know why I like Batman so much?”
“Why buddy?”
“Because in my game (leap pad), when Batman dies… he comes back to life.”

He might not be Batman, but he is a superhero. He knows that someday when he dies, he will come back to life. He has the hope of heaven because Jesus lives in his heart. There was nothing more sweet than bowing my head in prayer and hearing my sweet boy admit he needed a savior and asking Christ to be Lord of his life.

Batman ain’t got nothing on this little superhero!