And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath

Monday, June 29, 2015

5 ways my daughters make me a better woman

I love being a mom.  I have known since I was really little that I would be called to be a mother.   I could never have imagined, however how much my daughters would teach me!  So, in honor of my daughters today here are 5 ways that they have made me a better woman:


1.  They remind me to dance.  

My daughters are full of love, laughter and joy.  They have made my life so joyful.   They encourage me on a daily basis to try things I am scared of, to dance, and to sing.  They want me to live my life to the fullest that I can live it.   You want to know the best part about this one?  They are my biggest fans.  They want to live this joyful life with me cheering me on just as I have cheered them on throughout the years!

2.  They show me how I am reflecting God in their lives.

This is a huge one for me.  Little kids do not understand how God loves.  They don't understand the unfailing vastness of His love.  Their only reflection of this great love is how they are being loved by their parents, aka me.  That is a huge responsibility, and a challenging one.  I definitely have moments where I have not done the best job.  I have moments where I fail terribly at this.  I also have moments of victory where a breakthrough happens and I can see their spiritual journey unfold a little more.  Whether I am failing, or succeeding they challenge me to keep going, and keep striving each and every day.

3.  They give me more opportunities to pray.

I have always believed in a big God.  Faith is one of my biggest spiritual gifts, but I am never more challenged than when I am handing my daughters over.  They give me daily challenges, and daily opportunities to pray with them and pray for them.   There have been a lot of moments where my faith has been tested, and I am brought to my knees again praying for my darling daughters!


4.  They remind me on a daily basis to put people over task. 

 My daughters pick every single weed from the backyard every summer.  They bring the flowers to me in their dirty, sweaty fingers and  I cannot help but smile.  I take them and place them in the vase I always keep on my windowsill and replace the flowers they brought me the day before.  I love the look on their faces as they present the flowers to me as if they had walked outside and found gold.

 But in the hustle and bustle of life it is easy to overlook all the small stuff.  It is easy to brush off a few dandelions, or a drawing or another performance of "Let it Go" because as moms we always have a LOT to do.  I am not perfect at this, and there have been a lot of moments where I don't stop what I am doing. But, I firmly believe that the small stuff is the stuff of life.  The small moments are the moments that really matter.  And when we choose to look over the small moments we look over the people that matter to us.      My daughters will not always bring flowers in from the yard, and my vase will one day sit empty.  I don't want to miss it!

5.  They taught me how big love can be.
 
I had no idea how much I could love someone else until I had kids.  They gave me a whole new capacity for loving someone else.  They gave me a whole new perspective on how God loves me.  I would even say that they taught me what love really is.  I am forever thankful for that.


Thanks girls, you are each an incredible gift from God, and being your mom is the greatest gift!