This 31
Days has gotten the better of me. Topic
after topic has run through my head…funny topics, easy topics, personal topics,
spiritual topics… If there is one thing about me that I wish I could change it
would be my inability to make a decision.
After toiling over this for days…I had an epiphany last week during our
bedtime routine with the munchkins. It
went something like this.
Girls were
getting ready for bath time and I had asked them to go to their room and get
pajamas ready…moments later I hear screaming and squealing coming from
upstairs…I immediately dropped what I was doing and rushed upstairs to see who
had been hurt. What I saw brought a
flood of emotions over me. My girls were
literally fighting over a pair of pajamas….yes, this sounds funny and it is
child-like and they ARE girls…but I could hardly believe it.
***Let me insert here that my girls have 3
dressers drawers packed to the top with pajamas! They have more pajamas than any girls I’ve
ever known, and they were literally fighting over this particular pair.***
As a mother, I stood there angry, baffled,
shocked, but mostly I felt shame. Shame
of seeing them hurt each other with mean words.
Shame of knowing I had failed to teach them what appreciation is. That was it…that very moment…something
clicked, burst or just flipped inside of me, and without saying a word, I
immediately went to the dresser drawers and began pulling out ALL of the
pajamas…Every. Single. Pair. I moved on
to the other drawers and began pulling out socks, under garments, belts,
scarves, everything. The girls sat in
silence watching me.
Next, I
went to the closet….which is so over-packed with clothing, shoes and toys that
I can barely maneuver inside…(they have an oversized walk-in closet) I was on a
roll at this point, and I began taking all of the “Littlest Pet shop” houses
and accessories…next it was Barbie..OH YEA!! ALL of it. Clothing, dolls, houses, cars…Everything…at
this point I was feeling liberated and the girls were starting to cry. I finished up by removing all of the dress-up
garb. By this time the closet was
beginning to look empty and I decided to stop and talk to the girls.
After they
calmed down to a whimper we discussed the importance of each other. We talked about how sometimes we can “have”
so much and focus on “stuff” that we forget the important things in life….like
Family, Sisters, Friends, Health, on and on.
It was a nice conversation about how we are so blessed…too blessed. Our attention becomes so material driven and
things we have are no longer enough…we want more and more and more…it gets out
of hand!
That night
something happened…it was a true turning point.
We prayed together and they made up with each other and we even laughed
at how silly it was to fight over a crazy pair of PJ’s. The toys have been put away for 6 days and
would you know…the tone in our home has been milder. The girls are getting along better than ever
before. They have discovered old toys
that were no longer being played with and have not complained one time about
only having a couple of pair of PJ’s each.
I must say…I
did not intend for this to go this way, but we will see where it leads. Plus…it leads to less laundry for ME!!!
I'll take this 31 Days time to focus on What Matters most...I can't promise I'll make it every day, but I will make sure I pay attention daily to all that matters most in this journey we call life.
God, help me to instill your love in my children
by living a selfless life. Help me to
show them the importance of Your Word and things which are uplifting to
You. Let our home be a peaceful refuge
to all who enter. In Jesus Name!
