A few weeks ago after church I was attempting to guide my motley crew out the door. This can be a bit of a challenge, because gathering all of our "luggage" {diaper bag. bibles and notebooks. Sunday School papers. infant car seat.}, herding three small children, and dodging all of the friends that we could get stuck talking to for awhile is no small task. Usually this is the hour of day that everyone is starving and exhausted, so it is imperative that we do indeed get a move on.
Tired and hungry, and a little bit cranky myself, I called to a child-who-shall-remain-nameless and asked them to put down the game they were holding {our church library is stocked with such goodies for kids to enjoy after services} and come to me. Right now.
Instead of obeying, said child booked it in the opposite direction, making it only a few feet before tripping and sprawling the contents of the board game all. over. the. floor.
Now not only did I have a disobedient child to respond to, I also had a fussy baby who didn't want to be in her car seat, and a big mess that the responsible party was probably not going to want to help clean up. Of course that child would have to clean it up, but the battle that this would entail seemed way out of my league.
I sighed, gritted my teeth, and commanded that they pick it up NOW. Which of course brought on a mini temper tantrum. I tell you what, when it rains it pours.
At this moment another mom {whose children are all out of the tricky toddler years} swooped in. She must have recognized the look of exhaustion and desolation on my face- and boy was she a Godsend. She dropped down to eye-level with my child, made up a fun cleaning game on the spot, and helped them pick up all the pieces in record time.
Maybe it was the postpartum hormones, but I could have wept with relief.
There are so many negative posts out there about people who dare to "help" parents whose children are misbehaving, and for sure we have all been on the receiving end of help or words that really didn't help.
But can I take a moment to be thankful for the people who get it and come to the rescue of frazzled parents? Because parenting is tough, and exhausting, and requires tons of both mental and physical effort at all times- especially out in public. I don't know about you, but I am not always on top of my game. Children can really keep you on your toes! Sometimes an outsider with more energy can really make a difference for good.
So thank you to the empathetic mom who had more energy than I did. Thank you for showing love to my child when all I had was impatience and frustration. And thank you for diffusing a tense situation when I was worn out from the struggle. You were a real blessing.
You've also inspired me to be on the lookout for opportunities to bless other weary moms.
We need more women in this world who are kind, compassionate, and willing to step up and help instead of looking down noses and leveling criticism or a glare. Tired moms need wise women to come alongside and to show them grace.
At least I need that. How about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment