Dear God, help me

Dear God,

Help me to be a mom who says “I love you” far more often than bedtime.

Help me to a mom who remembers that to play is to have fun.

Help me to be a mom who doesn’t spend more time managing my home than raising my children.

Help me to be a mom who isn’t afraid to get dirty on purpose every once and a while.

Help me to be a mom who gets more excited about wake-ups than bedtimes.

Help me to be a mom who prays more than I worry.

Help me to be a mom who listens more than I lecture.

Help me to be a mom who gives thanks more than I complain about parenting challenges that stretch and grow me.

Help me to be a mom who disciplines proactively with the future in mind rather than one who punishes out of reaction to the present.

Help me to be a mom who wisely nourishes her children’s bodies as well as lets them indulge in Sunday morning waffles laden with syrup and Friday night ice cream cones.

Help me to be a mom who excels at creativity and who can skillfully draw it out of my littles, even—especially—when they’re bored.

Help me to be a mom who turns the music up a bit louder when the kids are really feeling the groove.

Help me to be a mom who doesn’t pressure my children to perform and yet spurs them on to do their best.

Help me to be a mom who creates a home environment that neighbor kids and schoolmates will be drawn to.

Help me to be a mom who always makes enough dinner for someone extra to drop by.

Help me to be a mom who makes family traditions something to look forward to while not being stuck in my ways and unable to change them when needed.

Help me to be a mom who slows down enough to breathe in freshly washed munchkin hair and notice new scratches on knees that need kisses.

Help me to be a mom who takes as much care in planning family days as I do planning to-do lists.

Help me to be a mom who always has a song in my back pocket, ready to pull out at a moment’s notice.

Help me to be a mom who shows my kids what a good marriage looks and sounds and feels like.

Help me to be a mom who consistently demonstrates my faith and one who teaches my kids to earnestly find their own.

Help me to be a mom who models writing thank you notes, calling grandmas, and inviting friends over for tea.

Help me to be a mom who guards the sacredness of our family while also opening wide our doors for those in need of a family of their own.

Help me to be a mom who lives to make others’ lives better but who also remembers to care for myself as needed.

Help me to be a mom who never tires of making sugar cookies at Christmas, colored eggs at Easter, cupcakes at birthdays, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Tuesdays.

Dear God, help me.

Dear friends, what kind of mom do you want to be?

love,

 

 

{above photo: last weekend – 35 weeks pregnant with our second son}