Reigniting the Joy of MotherhoodSample

Strength Under Control I'm convinced moms are superheroes, especially when it comes to multitasking. The other day, our 5-year-old daughter was working on her reading lesson when the baby started fussing. I picked up the baby, and a few seconds later, our son got a nosebleed out of nowhere. On our living room floor, I'm holding a tissue to my son's nose, helping our daughter sound out the word "eagle," and the baby spits up all down my shirt. I burst out laughing. As tears of laughter fall down my cheeks, my daughter insists, "Mom! It's not funny." My reaction to the chaos surprised both of us. When I first became a mother, I often cried out to God, "Please give me patience!" I quickly felt overwhelmed or frustrated when things were out of my control. Through motherhood, God is intentionally teaching me about self-control. Many times, my lack of patience is really a lack of self-control. In my journey of raising small children, the Holy Spirit has taught me I have a choice. I can allow the chaos to dictate my emotions, or I can choose to rule over my natural impulse to yell at my children and choose peace instead. We can have strength under control. This change in my life didn't happen overnight. Choosing to control my thoughts and feelings instead of allowing them to control me has taken time. The Holy Spirit has transformed my thoughts and renewed my mind through the reading of His word. As I soak in God's word and allow Him to mold my inward thoughts, slowly, my outward actions change. We can't do this alone. Thankfully, we have a God who tells us He will never leave us. We will not be shaken because He is right beside us (Psalm 16:8). Ask God today to renew your mind as you meditate on His inspired word. With His help, you can control your feelings and thoughts instead of allowing them to control you. Choose one scripture to meditate on throughout the day. After you write it down, return to it at least three times today to get it into your spirit.