Are You 'Engaged'?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Leave a Comment
Are you 'engaged'? Here is what I mean by that question.
Are your mind and heart seemingly disengaged in your role as Mama?Do you hustle and bustle through your busy day sometimes never even looking into each of your children's eyes?Are you busy "keeping your home" and all that that involves that you, many days miss the very little ones you are called to love and disciple?Do you often get to the end of the day and feel like something was missing?
Maybe it's just me, but my answers to these questions are an overwhelming, yes, yes, yes and yes!
How can that be when I am physically home every day, all day? I feed these people, clothe them, and home school them. How can I be missing 'it' by so much?
I find it extremely difficult to do all 'I think' I am called to do (notice I said all I think) and still connect with each one of these precious souls, my children.
There are some days one of them will come to kiss me goodnight and I have the startling thought, "did I even see you today?'
Life is way too short and time flies by so fast. My oldest is 22 and out of the house. I no longer have that opportunity to hug him every day or put his face in my hands and speak words of life and love into his heart. I am no longer able to shape and mold his heart. My next two, 19 and 17 are fast approaching that same status. The rest of the whole passel is growing up just as quickly.
I am weary of the regrets I feel at the end of the day. I surely don't want to have a whole litany of regrets at the end of my life!
While just about everything I do to 'keep my home' is very important and needs to be done, I somehow need to find that place where I can do those while having my heart engaged!
For me, this means, daily, if not hourly, looking to the Father for His will for my days and moments. I am fully persuaded that when I look to Him for my steps I am able to 'do it all,' His 'all,' that is.
Also, by His grace, training myself to stop and look into their eyes, include them into my 'hustle and bustle,' to keep my heart engaged and checked in.
I pray constantly for the Lord to 'bind my wandering heart.'
Dear Mamas, engage your heart today, everyday! Stay connected. Don't let the busyness of this calling to keep you from the very ones you are called to love. If you are involved in 'ministry' and you're missing your main ministry, that being your children, it might be time re-evaluate.
My dear Grandma used to tell me how fast time flew by. I would think, "really, she is so out of touch, she has no idea how L-O-N-G these days are." I regret I didn't believe her. Don't be as foolish and ignorant as I was, IT IS TRUE!
Call your little ones over right now, get on your knees, look into their eyes, give them the gift of a mama who is engaged!
Michelle
You may visit me at my blog She Looketh Well
(Encouraging women to 'look well' to the ways of their household)
Michelle,
Thanks for this post. I found myself missing my kiddos the other day and I too am a SAHM. I am rarely wihtout their presence but still I had gone the whole day without talking to my four year old, I mean really talking. Looking at him and hugging him and listening to him. I was forgetting the most important things about being a SAHM, thats the MOM part!
Shortly after that day I had a prenatal dr. appointment and afterwards stopped by to visit a family memeber. My husband was at home that day with the kids so I could go to my dr. appointment solo and after being away for two hours I was ready to go home. I told my family meember that I missed my kids and wanted to head home. Sometimes we forget that children are a blessing and not a burden. We long for time alone, I was delighted that day to be longing for hugs from my precious children. Its not everyday that I have that attitude but I was thankful to have appreciated what God has given me that day and hope to be reminded of it everyday. Before my babies are grown up.
Oh how true it is! It's amazing how we can all be in the same home and yet all be doing our own thing. My kids are 6 and 4 so when they do go off and do their own thing I am so grateful. But lately I've noticed how heavy they are to pick up or how long they are when they sit on my lap - it seemed to happen overnight!
My son just lost his first tooth - it was momentous!!! He swallowed it - poor guy! Quite a challenge for the tooth fairy hehe! While I'm so excited to see signs of him growing up this first tooth out made me sad:-(
Thanks for your encouragement today.
Courtney
http://www.womenlivingwell-courtney.blogspot.com
So true!
I'm not a mom, but I know how important it is to spend quality time with MY mom and others who are important to me. I can get pretty busy at times, but I try to make the effort to be engaged with those I care about closely. It's a balancing act for sure.
This is so true my first ministry is my children, thanks for the reminder to be grateful to the Lord of being engaged to 3 precious little ones.
i love this post. thanks so much. i will post about this on my site.. :)
While I was reading your words I remembered back to when my children were little. The list of things I would do differently is to long to put in writing. I would love to go back and redo, but I can't. Please take the lessons of a grandma and enjoy them, play with them, hug them, instruct them, read to them. When they are gone and your house is clean, dishes are done, laundry all caught up your heart will ache for those crazy days. Please go give them a hug from Grandma Wendy
NICE BLOG.
Ah, Michelle, have you been in my heart lately?! I so hear you and God has been dealing with me on this very thing! Thank you for the reminder and confirmation that what I feel God is telling me is most certainly HIM speaking! It's no "coincidence" that I stopped by today!
Blessings!
Trisch
This was so me yesterday! Thank you!
Awesome post! It all just takes soooo much physical and emotional energy! Doesn't it??