Pretty much on a daily basis I have people telling me I'm supermom these days. I am definitely not!! I am a mom who fiercely loves her children and is doing the best that she can on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis. But at the core, I am selfish and lazy and seek comfort and quiet and control. I think that's one of the reasons God has blessed me with these 5 little ones--so He can sanctify me.
So if I'm not supermom, how do I do it? With lots and lots of help.
The past few months have required me to get over my desire to be self-sufficient and to rely heavily on others. It sounds like it would be easy to let other people help, but at times I find it very difficult. I think it's part of my desire for control.
I am so thankful though for people God has placed in my life who are walking through this with us and are willing to be patient with me and our children and to help us all survive.
We have two wonderful young ladies from church, Anna and Rachel, who are here multiple times per week to help. They play with the big kids outside in the yard, take them swimming, do art projects, fix them meals, help with rest time, do my dishes, play games, and more. I am so very thankful for their enthusiasm and tender care of our children.
It has been a tremendous blessing to have Mimi and PopPop here. I can't even describe all the ways that they have helped us. Marcy came pretty much every morning the entire month of June and fixed breakfast for the kids when I couldn't walk in the mornings. They feed us dinner, give our kids baths, help with laundry, take our dog out, have the kids over for slumber parties, pick up things at the grocery store, watch the kids so Jay and I can go out on a date for an hour, and play and love on our kids like crazy. We keep telling them to let us know when they need a break! But they reassure us that this is one of the reasons they moved here and that they are so glad to be able to help. We are extremely thankful to have them here.
My family has also been so helpful. It's a little harder since they aren't in Greenville, but they have traveled back and forth multiple times in the past weeks to help with the big kids and to hold babies. They have kept the big kids for 2 and 3 days at a time to give us a little bit of a break. They bring us food and call to check on us and have been so encouraging. We are really thankful that they are close enough to share in the joy of all of the chaos too!
I have friends (like these 2 lovely ladies) who have been extremely generous of the time and their homes to have our kids over for playdates, feed them lunch, and offer me so much encouragement. They've been doing this for months now and hopefully soon I'll be able to return the favor and have their kids over to play! I am really thankful to have friends who know what I need without me even having to ask.
We also have a wonderful lady from our church who helps us with our laundry. We have members of our sunday school class/bible study/jay's work/neighbors who bring us meals. We also have a night nurse who is coming about twice a week to help us get a little extra rest at night. I am thankful for these extremely practical ways we've been helped.
And of course, I have a wonderful husband who is pretty much super-dad. I am having to depend on him so much to help with the kids and household tasks that I normally handle. All while he works 11-12 hours a day too. He's pretty amazing and I surely couldn't do this without him. I am so thankful God gave me a husband who leads and serves our family.
1 comment:
hilarious that we have similar themes today.
God provides so wonderfully for those little ones He creates- He will not leave them.
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