Building Cathedrals
Yesterday was our dear Red’s birthday. Let’s everyone sing together– “Happy Birthday to you…”
I jokingly wrote to her that I hoped she was being pampered on her birthday, but that I highly doubted it because she’s a mom of four and it takes a lot for a mom of four to get away for birthday pampering.
I’ll be honest, it’s hard for this mom of four to get away to use the bathroom, let alone leaving the house for something lovely like a pedicure!
From here, these types of thoughts can lead in two directions for me.
The first is a dark path, leading to self pity and self righteousness. It is one filled with thoughts like, “I’m a self-sacrificing mother who doesn’t ever get attention. I’m responsible for everything and everybody, yet no one cares for me.” This is obviously a rather sinful route of thinking. It is fruitless and joy-stealing. It allows little room for redemption and can breed eventual feelings of entitlement if left untended.
The second is the more holy of the choices and the path I trod less willingly, but more prayerfully. It leads to thoughts such as, “I am blessed beyond measure to have these little souls to tend. The gifts they give to me are precious and priceless. While this season of life is busy and less about me, it is bringing me closer to Jesus.”
From here I have purpose, I have love, and I have Christ–no better gifts for a mother on her birthday.
“Like Jesus we belong to the world living not for ourselves but for others. The joy of the Lord is our strength.” –Mother Theresa
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