Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
I love my family. I absolutely love them! But I’m not sure how much my actions in the past week have demonstrated that love.
Moving is stressful. It’s exciting but stressful. Moving into a home with an extra 1000 sq. feet on a few acres of land is something our whole family is looking forward to. My children are spending hours talking about the games they’ll play and the excursions they’ll enjoy. In the background, laughter and anticipation abound!
But what have I brought to the table? Being caught up in packing the boxes, arranging the containers for purging the house, getting documents to the bank, deciding what stays and what goes, I realized that I’m not doing much listening to the little ones who are important to me. And I’m sure some wrath has reared its ugly head, too.
What brought me to my senses?
Mama, you’re not mad; you’re just stressed.
Oh my. My precious, dear 8-year-old daughter’s words came just a few hours after my Bible time. And it broke my heart. What really got me was that she said this as part of her “a-ha, I get it now” moment! True, I wasn’t mad, but I was in a hurry as I needed to arrange a visit with a mover while working around our therapy schedule all while another company was running hours behind.
What did my daughter want? She wanted to ask me about some of the items in a box from my own childhood; but because of seeing my busyness and hearing my tone of voice as I rattled through my to-do list, she was afraid to approach me.
While business needs to be taken care of and commitments need to be met, I was reminded that while I’m busy giving instructions, managing phone calls, and coordinating other important factors, I also need to stop being so swift to cut them off for the sake of “in a minute,” when they’re eager to share time with me.
Busy times in motherhood are inevitable. While I often think I’ll do better when things slow down, the reality is that it’s not going to. Different seasons bring different challenges, and moments with my children are fleeting. There will always be something to arrange, someone to call, and an appointment that needs to be made. But that moment with my 8-year-old daughter, surrounded by memorabilia from my own childhood? That’s something that I may never get back.
My immediate prayer was asking Him to help me to remember not to take these moments for granted—to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and certainly slow to wrath. There’s nothing more important to me than the privilege I have of mothering these dear souls under my care. May I never take that for granted.
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So beautiful, convicting, and true Sara! Sometimes when my children talk to each other about how busy I am I feel a twinge of guilt. Yes, I am busy, but I never, ever want to be too busy for them! I try to take that as a cue to stop and slow down, but you have definitely helped me remember to do that more often with this beautiful post. Thank you for sharing your heart!