Motherhood

Tired...cranky...sick...angry...frustrated...just plain mean. I don't know about you, but these are some feelings that creep up within me at times. Any other job you can drag yourself through the 8 hours or so, then take a break. BUT, as we all know, moms just don't get to take time off when they're sick or tired or any of the above. As a matter of fact, if we do decide that we need our break, then our kids take full advantage of the situation. The end result is worse than the beginning. I know these days will soon pass and I'll look back on many incidents and laugh (or so I'm told!), but that knowledge doesn't typically help me through the present.

Today I was comforted by the following verse in Isaiah:

"He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."

Can't you picture a shepherd gently leading the sheep that have young ones? I think we're harder on ourselves than the Good Shepherd is. We end up feeling guilty because we're not able to keep up with everyone else's activities. Or we don't feel spiritual enough at times. We get upset that we haven't done any holiday baking this year or we haven't had guests over in more than a month. I don't think the Lord expects that much from us. We're at a very special time in our lives when we have little ones. We should be focused on them and not everyone else. The Lord is dealing gently with us. Let's take comfort in that.