SHORTHAND | Quick Thoughts for a Busy World

The Evolution of the Soul

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When a baby is born a spirit evolves into a soul.

It cannot walk. It cannot talk. It can only be loved.

The baby grows and learns to live. To play. To pray. To love. It is part of a family.

When we are asked to love a baby we too evolve.

We do not know the way to walk. We do not always know the words to say. We learn what it means to love.

We grow and learn to live with that baby. To play with that baby. To pray with them too. To love them. We are their family.

To love a baby is the evolution of the soul. It transforms us into Mother. It transforms us into Father. We become more than we ever were before.

Your Messy House

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To mothers of little children, many children, or even just one baby — mothers of busy lives:

Your messy house isn’t a sign of weakness in you…

It is just one of the many trials of your life — of this stage of motherhood — whatever that is for you.

Please don’t put yourself down and don’t compare.

Don’t compare with others and don’t compare to a time in your life when you were able to keep your the house clean — it isn’t just your house. Ask for help — except the babies they have a special pass.

The house is just going to be messy from time to time — all the time.

There will always be something to clean and that’s okay — for this stage of life because you are busy living your life as a mother — not a housewife.

As My Child Cries

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To my two year old the world is filled with injustice, technology overload and his overbearing siblings, which he expresses with constant crying and endless whining.

His cry rings through the house, pierces my heart and drenches the hem of my skirt and my shoulder.

There have been many times when I wished the crying would stop, making me cry myself.

But then today, in the midst of all his whining and tears, as I picked him up I was reminded: He trusts me with his tears.

He trusts me to hold him, to wipe his cheeks gently. He puts all his hope in me to help make the world right again. His littleness clingy to me, looking to me for answers, his perfect trust.

It made me think: when was the last time I trusted someone like that with my tears? Surely God is the only one who knows the deepest parts of my soul. It is Him who I look to calm my fears, keep me grounded, to hold me and wipe the tears of my soul away. It is in Him that I trust to help make my world right again or else fill me with peace to accept that my world is all wrong for the moment and that’s okay.

And He trusts in me to honor the trust this little child has put in me. It is an honor, albeit, one I have to work at accepting in the moment when my nerves are fried.

As my child cries…

As I pour my soul to God…

As He holds us both.

Out For a Run With 6 Kids

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I was out for a Saturday morning run… with six kids in tow.

It looked something like this:

Three of the smallest in the stroller built for two. One on a bike, one riding a razor and one walking… with a water break every twenty yards, each kid taking a turn.

That was when I decided I wouldn’t try to run, but rather, just walk.

But the walk wasn’t a brisk walk it was more of a meander, admiring the flowers along the path, waiting for kids to catch up, taking turns getting in and out of the stroller and yes, more water breaks. Not to mention the stop at the park so the kids could play.

What could have been the most blissful hour of my morning, was nothing but. I was a frustrated. I had a goal and all of these things were keeping me from completing it. I wanted to at least keep a steady jog or even a quick paced walk. Not even close.

But then a thought came forcefully into my mind: What do I love about this? How powerful a thought can be…

I let that thought sit with me for a moment as I tried to answer it truthfully.

I was out early on a Saturday morning with all six of my kids. Outside! Not on a screen or cleaning.

I noticed I would catch myself admiring their littleness from time to time. I thought of how much they must love that they are little enough to be pushed in a stroller while they admire the world around them. I know the older ones wished they were still small enough. One of them actually tried to convince me to push them for a while.

I love that they want to be with me.

We walked, we stopped, played at a park, enjoyed nature, laughed, jogged for 20 seconds and enjoyed the sun before it was too hot to enjoy.

Besides, I realized that during that hour we had traveled 1.5 miles while I pushed 100lbs around. That should count for something.

That is what a Saturday morning run with six kids in tow really looked like. I felt bad that I didn’t see it earlier, that I didn’t enjoy it sooner, but it was a lesson for me to learn and I learned it.

Learning as I go.

 

The Role of Mother Simplified

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As I laid down tonight to soothe a frightened son, I was reminded how simple it all really is.

He is my younger brother. I am his older sister.

My role in life: to help him get back to Heavenly Father.

How do I do that? Bring him to Christ and Christ will show him the way.

There is a sweet love, distinct from that of a mother, that resonates in my soul as I think of my five boys as my brothers and my daughter as my sister.

The pressure to be the perfect mom fades. The frustration with their choices ebbs. I see them for who they really are. They are just trying to figure out this life just like I am. I see no fault, I just yearn to be there for them. Earthy duties remain, but don’t overrun or override what I know is the basics of Heavenly Father’s plan for them and for me.

I better understand the role of mother, which is godly and noble, when I remember that I am still their sister and that Heavenly Father has entrusted these precious brothers and sister of mine to me. What an honor.

So simple. So sweet to remember I was their sister before I became their mother.

As the Sun Sets

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One day this kid will be so tall, so big and a man, that I will hardly remember what he was like when he was so little, so small and just a boy.

No one has to tell me how quickly the days go by, although the hours seem long. Or how quickly the sun sets each day. How then is it so easy for me to wish the night would come sooner so they all could just go to bed and I could get a break? I know I will look back on these days with regret if I don’t treasure them.

Like watching the magic of each sun set, I will do my best to savor each passing moment with my little babies. Because my time with them will set so fast.

J.M Barrie said it best, “Nonsense. Young boys [and Pixies] should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they’re grown.”

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