When God Speaks To You Through Your Words To Your Children

Four and a half years ago the life of my family looked much different than it does today. At that time, my husband had lost his job right after we made the decision for me to leave full time employment so I could stay home with our baby girl. We exchanged our big city life for small town living and the future seemed kind of uncertain. I was scared and nervous and not exactly a happy camper to be living in such a rural area. 

I'll never forget the first time we decided to explore town. I was silently crying behind my sunglasses. "Downtown" was certainly not a happening place, Target was 20 minutes away, the only people I knew were family and I felt completely alone in my situation. As we drove around town, our baby (who is now a Kindergartener!) started crying in her car seat. I reached back to rub her head and said "don't worry baby, I'm right here with you."

BOOM! 

Did I just say that or did God say that to me? 

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I immediately knew that they were not my words. God had placed those words in my mouth and on my heart to remind me that I was NOT alone - HE was with me.

The more days and months that pass and the more I find myself deep into parenting, I realize that I am never alone. God is always right there with me and He often uses my words to speak directly to me. 

There are two things that Tolar and I will say to our daughter pretty regularly. I will tell her "remember who you are." I always want to say so much more; I want to tell her how kind and sweet and caring and helpful and amazing and awesome and talented she is. But I don't always have time, so I've shortened it to "remember who you are." This is usually the last thing I say to her as she gets out of the car for school. Tolar will tell her "to be a bit better today than you were yesterday." Through his words, he is telling her that we all fall short daily, no one but Jesus is perfect, but we are given this incredible gift of grace where we can learn from our mistakes and do better the next day (or the next moment).

Let me paint a picture for you:
It is 7:05 a.m. - you overslept - and you need to leave the house at 7:45 a.m. to take your kindergartener to school. Your schedule before you is cram packed with so many to-dos that you have almost lost count of everything on your list. Everyone needs to be fed, dressed and put together in a presentable fashion. You are one of those people who likes order and does not respond well to chaos and rushing around. And suddenly your kindergartener decides that she wants to pick out her own clothes and is taking forever. So what do you do? You yell at her and rush her around and completely forget the real you.

And suddenly God whispers "remember who you are." Do you hear it?

Maybe not. But I guarantee you will hear it when you get to school and say those words to your child as she heads into school.

Ouch.

Mamas, I think we have all been there. In a moment of chaos, we find ourselves acting like someone we don't even recognize. We allow the stress to overtake us and we forget who we really are. But here is the incredible thing. We have an opportunity to apologize to our children. To show them that we as moms are human too and that we need forgiveness and grace everyday. To show them that we respect them enough to admit when we are wrong. And if your child is anything like mine, your child may seem like Jesus to you in human flesh. Yes, those are huge shoes to fill, but it's true. My daughter sees me fail all the time and yet she listens to and accepts my apologies and she loves me all the same. She tells her friends that I'm nice, she tells me I'm the best mommy all the the time and she she showers me with love even when I don't deserve it.

So friends, know that I am with you. When you find yourself in those moments of chaos or stress...stop for a second. Remember who you are. Take a moment to pray. Allow God to remind you who you are and allow your child the opportunity to see you crushing satan in his tracks. One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 66:13: "As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you." God didn't use any other noun to describe the comfort that He can give us. He says that He comforts us the same way a mother comforts her children. Remember that! YOU were picked to be the mom for a reason. YOU can do this. You can do the hard things and conquer stress every single day. You have the power to comfort your children in an incredible way. Remember that.

Give yourself some grace, cut yourself some slack and be a bit better today than you were yesterday.