Jugglers Extraordinaire

Last Sunday was Mother's Day.  I hope you enjoyed my post and follow up one with the baby animal pictures.  For some reason, those pictures take a long time to load and view on my PC.  They are adorable though!  Because Mother's Day is about appreciating our work, I thought a devotion about appreciation would be timely.

Recently, I had one of those days when I was just off of my game, you know?  I forgot that it was Show and Tell at preschool for my older son.  That sent us back out to the car to forage for something to save the day while he cried.  Thank God mommy cars hold the promise of all kinds of surprises tucked into their crevices.  I sent him to school with a little plastic car, and just as I was exhaling, I realized that I had forgotten his lunch bunch ticket.  Shoot.  Later that morning, I attended a gym class with my younger son that has been meeting weekly for several months now.  I arrived early I thought, only to realize that I had actually arrived 15 minutes into a 45 minute class.  Ugh.

I am usually relatively punctual and organized, but I could not pull it together.  I am lucky to have good friends who quickly told me not to beat myself up about it.  They shared stories of similar experiences.  And really, if we are not to sweat the small stuff, that really was small stuff.

Have you been carrying something around, beating yourself up about it?  Has there been a day recently when you dropped the ball?  Although that ball might have made a big splash, have you allowed yourself the chance to step back and put the situation in perspective? 

Moms, we juggle so much on a daily basis.  God does not demand that we are perfect.  Just like we tell our kids, what we need to do is try our best.  That is enough.  Remember that the small stuff is just icing on the cake.

This link is a must-read for appreciation.  Please read it now:
http://www.drmomma.org/2011/07/what-did-you-do-today.html?m=1

Take credit for all of the good you do everyday.  Your work is not unnoticed.  Even if you do not feel appreciated, even if those littler voices do not express their thanks in poignant moments yet, know that your Heavenly Father sees all that you are doing and smiles. 

And thank God that my house on its roughest days is not that bad - yet!

Prayer:  Dear God, We approach you humbly and in need of your love.  Please accept all that we do for our children as an offering to you.  May you be pleased, and may you use our efforts to further your excellent plan.  May we hear you say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"  And just as you are smiling, grant us occasion for our hearts to smile too.  In Jesus' name, Amen. 

"But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you"  (Matthew 6:3-4, NRSV).  Secret offerings to God do not go unnoticed in heaven, Moms.