The last little phase of our life has been an extremely busy one. Health wise, I have had a lot going on. Work wise, Phil has had a lot going on and the girls… well they have just been their busy little selves. This recent phase has been topped off with a two week solo parenting stint which I have been dreading since I heard it was coming.

And so, on this Mother’s Day I got a 5:30am wake-up with an immediate request for tea and milk and a movie. The girls are too young to even know what day it is so to them, it’s just another one. There were no gifts or wishes or thanks. And no, this post is not about how sorry I am feeling for myself because my husband is away and my kids are not old enough to recognise this day…

Because what I got is so much more…

What I got is a whole new perspective on mothering. It was something I had prayed for, something I was trusting for and a prayer that God has so graciously answered. It hurts to realise how I had let such selfishness and impatience creep into my heart. Mothering had become an endless list of tasks to complete and demands to meet.

The mindset that children are a burden is so very prevalent. We forget to actually enjoy them. We forget that raising our children, teaching young hearts and guiding young thoughts is a tremendous privilege and joy. We know it in the bigger scheme of things, but in the day to day tasks, we forget.

Sure, they are hard work and we sacrifice so much, but if we let this be the one thing that we dwell on… then our hearts are not going to be in the right place. Children ARE a blessing, parenting them is a privilege and our perspective on this is what is going to make or break the kind of parent that we are to them.

Parenting is an opportunity to grow these little people into the young adults that they will one day be. It’s not all sunshine and roses but even the hard stuff can bring glory to God in the way that we deal with it. Even the struggles are an opportunity for growth. Even a two week solo parenting stint (over Mother’s Day) can be one of the biggest blessings you have ever received.

Today I celebrate my girls and the opportunities that I have been given, the blessing and joy of being a MOM and all that that holds. Today I celebrate the journey we took to get here. Today I celebrate mundane tasks and dirty floors, I celebrate what God has done and all the HE is. Today I celebrate the forgiving and loving hearts of our God and my two girls. Today I celebrate change.

Never stop changing, never stop challenging, never stop trusting and never stop praying. Because we serve a God who wants so much more for us than what we could ever think or believe.