Oh How He Loves Us!

Is this really what God had in mind when He blessed me with my beautiful family?

A tired, stressed, haggard mother of 3 hanging on my her fingernails?....fingernails complete with bamboo shoots shoved up underneath them! 

Right now I have so many things I am responsible for and yet there is still ONLY ONE ME !  How can that be?  How could God have done this?

It was His Will that gave me my three sweet children......

.....His Will that gave my wonderful husband such a good job, yet keeps him away from us for months at a time.....

.....His Will that gave me so many "possessions" to take care of.....

.....His Will that gave me a phone that rings off the hook all day long with my loving friends who want to speak to me.....

After my migraine-filled, accident prone weekend, it's a miracle I'm actually here to complain about my stress!  Why, who else could literally inject themselves in the thumb with an Epipen so deeply that a paramedic would have to remove it?  Why me of course!

*sigh*

As I was gathering my thoughts today, trying to figure out how in the world I am going to pull off my busy 3-day-weekend event schedule, I realized that I have double-booked myself ALL THREE DAYS!

Now mind you, I didn't deliberately, or even absent-mindedly do this.  My book fair was planned months ago, long before I knew Jagger's football schedule, or Frank's travel schedule, or about Terry's ....well....Terry!

Now I'm in quite a pickle...I don't know which end is up and my stress level is so high I can barely breathe.  So this is what it feels like to have an anxiety attack?  Hmmmm.....I'd always wondered...but never really wanted to know!

Tonight, between my break from children's choir and the end of the children's activities at church I had a brief 30 minutes in which I could RUN to Kohl's to exchange a pair of shoes I had purchased there earlier in the day.  Unfortunately, when I got them home they were too small....go figure!

Anyhoo...I digress....

So I run in at break necking speed and realize that OF COURSE they don't have the pair I purchased in the size I needed.  So I selected a more expensive pair.  When I went to customer service, I was greeted with the most ornery customer service representative they have in their employ.  I've dealt with this wretched woman before and was less than thrilled when I saw she was working tonight.  After a significant wait ( I was third in line ) it was finally my turn with Medusa!  I explained my situation and asked if I could exchange for the more expensive pair in order to save my "Kohl's Cash" balance.  She very rudely informed me that it "clearly states on the receipt that you will lose your Kohl's Cash if you return merchandise".  So basically I got to spend MORE money and lose part of my Kohl's Cash. 

Really?

Seriously?

I spent $277 in their store today and just spent an additional $15 in order to get a different pair of shoes because they didn't have my size, no fault of my own mind you, and THEY TOOK AWAY $10 OF MY BLEEPIN' KOHL'S CASH!?!?!

I proceeded to tell her, as she incessantly argued with me, that just because the receipt said such, it didn't make it ethical!  So much for "the customer is always right" huh?

Needless to say, by the time I got into my car I was reduced to tears....my anxiety through the roof!  I was spent...in more ways than one!

So I went back to pick up my kids and after yet ONE MORE ERRAND...we headed home.

So now you want to know how my God loves me so?? 

I came in, fed my youngest son a sub sandwich and sat on the couch to just vegetate!  I just had nothing left in me....and then I hear it....from the back of the house....the teenager!  He's actually playing with his younger siblings, occupying them to save me more grief!  WOW! 

God has provided me with everything I need to survive this journey.  My sweet son stepped up to the plate, saw my need and filled it.  He rescued me when I needed rescuing most....when I was at my weakest. My heart overflowed with pride and love for this sweet child that God has sent to me.  He is such a blessing to our family.  I don't know that he will ever fully understand how he has blessed me by giving me the opportunity to be his Mother, but I am so very proud to call him my son!

And that my friends ...

                                                                      .....is a God Thing!  :o)

It's the little things.....

Sitting on the couch this a.m. I'm slowly waking up, drinking my coffee and watching the news.  I can hear my littlest one rustling in the bed and calling for me in the tiniest, sweetest voice.

Part of me wants just a "little more time" to myself....

...but when she rises and comes out to greet me...

her hair is disheveled,

"my tummy doesn't feel better", she says.

I ask my little princess if she wants to sit in my lap, and she nods in the sweetest way.  She decides that lying down fixes her tummy issues and as she's lying beside me she says,

"God "make-ded" the perfect Mommy for me!"

 

At that moment I thought my heart would literally burst from my chest with love for this precious child whom God has entrusted me to raise, love, nurture......treasure. 

WOW!  What a responsibility....

...but remarkably it's nothing compared to His love for us!

Ephesians 3:16-19

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge

—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

My cup runneth over!