Today I Am Home

Thankfulness comes at the strangest times.

This morning I was pulling the trash to the curb. As I did, I noticed several cars with women driving, speeding down our street. They looked to be in a terrible hurry. I don't know where they were going, but I can imagine. If you are ever on the road in the mornings, notice how many cars have empty car seats in the back. How many women are rushing off to work this morning who have just dropped their kids off somewhere, hoping that they will be taken care of?

But today I am home.

I am so thankful for this blessing! Today I don't have to wonder what my kids are doing or if they liked what was for lunch or if they are feeling kind of bad and want me, or if someone is making fun of them, or if they got pushed in line, or if they needed something and the teacher didn't notice...today I know where they are. They are in bed sleeping. And when they get up, we will go to the library together. I will fix their meals. I will listen to their requests. I will hug them and read to them. I will make sure they are taken care of. I will be a MOM today.

And my husband needs me to take care of a few things. I will make time to do those things for him. Then he will have more time to relax this evening. More time to enjoy his family. More peace to think about work while he's at work (instead of these things that need to be done.) Today I will be a WIFE.

Other people are facing the tasks of being a wife and mother today, but not with joy. Why? I think this is part of the lies we have been fed. Growing up, I was fed the message of "what do you want to be when you grow up?" As if what I WANT is the deciding factor.
After I was grown, I was fed the message of "what are your gifts/talents?" As if God has given me a very specific thing to do that no one else could ever do and that would determine my course in life.

Now I know God has given me talents. There are things I am good at doing. And of course there are things I wanted to do when I grew up. But these have nothing to do with the big picture. When I got married, I became my husband's helper. My love for him makes this task a joy. Knowing that I am doing what God wants me to do makes it a joy, too. My love for my children makes being a mother a joy. Knowing that what I am doing pleases the Lord and is important to my husband makes it a joy, too.

No one EVER told me, growing up, that being a wife and mother was all I needed to worry about. I thought everyone had to spend their time trying to find out what they were "supposed" to be. It isn't about what you want. It isn't about what you have been gifted to do. It's about fulfilling the roles the Lord has already blessed you with. And when you figure that out--there is joy.