Mommy Time Out

I love the funny quotes from the back of Parents Magazine.  Typically I flip straight to the back to read them. August's issue had one that jumped out at me and sure applies today.

Tone Cold

I was reading a book to my kids and got to a part where I read, "And he spoke with a voice that was sharpish and bossy."  My three year old, Bryce, said, "Oh, like you, Mom?"

Crissy Maurer; Potalnd, Oregon

Ha, ha...but not really. So here's how it applied to today.

I lost it.  Vacation is over, Daddy returned to work, and reality set in.

How can my children love each other so much and yet be so ugly to one another?  Nothing gets me more upset with my kids than when they hit one another.  They immediately blow up and lash out.  What is that about?

Fast forward to the mirror God is holding in front of my face.  Oh, that's right, I set the example.

When I immediately  let my emotion takeover and parent in anger I will always come up short and in turn be anything BUT the example of Christ.  The beauty is that God's grace is sufficient and he's not done with me yet.  Yet, I still hate that after being a Mommy for nearly eleven years I still battle my temper on a daily basis.  And I still apologize to my babies on a daily basis.  I don't want to be that do as I say, not as I do parent.  I want my life to be the example of how to behave, not how not to.

So, how do I get from here to there.  I don't know for sure, but repenting, praying, and giving it to Jesus sound about right.  So here we are again God. Shape me to look less like me and more like you.  Make me to love with compassion, understanding, and grace like you do.  Mold me to be the Mommy you intended me to be and give me the patience for it to happen in your timing.

Maybe then I will hear more of, "Your the best Mommy in the world.", rather than to see eyes filled with hurt.  Better make the best of Mommy time out and pray while they are napping.