My life is pretty ordinary. I'm not an extraordinary mom. I lose my patience way too often. My words don't match my actions. My kids (who are teenagers now) mess up from time to time. There are so many things I wish I had done--and didn't. And even more things I wish I hadn't done--and did. The only thing I'm an expert at is. . .imperfection.
When my kids were preschoolers, we lived out in the country. Our yard didn't have many trees, so a mother bird decided to build her nest on our back porch lamp. We watched her build it. We checked it every day and soon found three eggs. We watched Mama Bird sit on her eggs and because her nest was so close to our door, she got really comfortable with us coming and going. When the eggs hatched--we celebrated! We continued to watch as Mama Bird went about her daily tasks in raising these little, scrawny, skeletal creatures. Over and over throughout the day, Mama Bird left the nest to find food for her babies, brought the food back, fed them, cleaned out the nest (which was disgusting to watch) and over again. What could be more hum drum than the life of a mother bird?
One day we went out the backyard and Mama Bird was sitting on the fence, just squawking up a storm! I couldn't figure out what she was carrying on about. Then all of a sudden, over my right shoulder, a baby bird swooped down out of the nest and flew across the yard to her. A few seconds later came the second bird and then the third. It was amazing! We'll never forget it. Kelsey and Courtney probably still remember it and it's been 11 years. I'm so thankful that we were there at just the right time! Everything that Mama Bird had done for them--the preparing, the caring, the trivial chores--was getting them ready for that moment--when they would fly.
Sometimes, as a mom, I get caught up with the routine of it all. The driving, the cleaning, the packing of lunches (my LEAST favorite chore), the laundry, the fatigue, the frustration of always being behind--and I wonder, what is all of this leading to? Who really cares? Does anyone even notice?
But, every now and then, God gives me a glimpse of some change that is happening that keeps me going. I see those changes more often now that my girls are older. All the times that I think my efforts go unnoticed, I am wrong. They are taking root and growing in the hearts of my daughters. It's easy to miss these little glimpses of growth or dismiss them as nothing, but they're right there. I just need to pause in my life more often and take note.
