I do a lot of other things. Photography, which is fun and something I think about a lot. I spend time scrapbooking and crafting and sewing. And there are books to read and magazines to peruse. Recipes to try and cookbooks to finish. Curtains to hang and dresses to mend. Blogs I'd love to read.
But nothing is as important as being a mom. I know it internally. Am I living that?
I love this quote from President Gordon B Hinckely:
"You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be, How well have my children done?
If the answer is that they have done very well, then your happiness will be complete. If they have done less than well, then no other satisfaction can compensate for your loss. And so I plead with you tonight, my dear sisters. Sit down and quietly count the debits and the credits in your role as a mother. It is not too late. When all else fails, there is prayer and the promised help of the Lord to assist you in your trials. But do not delay. Start now, whether your child be six or 16."
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Am I putting my best foot forward for my kids? When I kneel down to pray at night and in the morning, are my children forefront in my mind? Their needs, their happiness, their concerns and troubles. Am I putting more effort and preparation and planning into my parenting as I am my photography or my baking or my crafts?
I always thought I would be blessed with piles of kids in a short amount of time. Like my mom had. But apparently that is not what God wants for me. And I've realized that that wouldn't work well for me. I have needed the space between my kids.
I am not one of those women who gets to plan what month they want to have a baby, since you know, it'll be better to have a baby in this month cause of whatever. That's not me and it's not my body. But that is okay. Today it is okay. Yes pregnancy is hard for me. Eli's was, well horrific. But I know that they are more kids to come to our home. At least one more. Maybe that is all. I don't know. I'm not sure I can BE pregnant more times that once more. (unless I get some crazy awesome pregnancy that other people experience.) I'm sure I will know when our family is complete. But that's not the point. The point is, am I doing my best in my mothering? Am I saving the best of me for something else or for home?
I'm not sure why I am sharing all this today. Perhaps cause it has been on my mind so much lately. Perhaps I want to encourage you to be putting your best foot forward, whatever that best is. Cause everyone's is different. And that is okay. Because we are all crafted in the Lord's image. He made mother as on of the most important roles on this earth. And we've got it.
So what are we going to do with it?
13 comments:
I love this kind of posts, I have found myself also sitting down and just writting what was on my mind.... and being amother is almost always one of them, if Im doing my best or what I can do better, so thanks for allowing me to reflect some more this morning on so inspiring words... but for a side note I think your a women of many many talents and being a mom is one of them!
This is on my mind a lot! I want for my kids to look back on childhood and have good happy memories, I want to know that I have done my part on teaching them things that are really important and nurtured them the way I am supposed too. What a blessing it is to have the opportunity to raise such special spirits for a while in our homes!
Im going to guess that you Rhonda are a great mom!!!
Such a great post. I love posts like these to self reflect and become better. Thanks
just what I needed to read today - thanks for the food for thought.
Seriously you must be reading my mind these days! This has definitely been in the forefront of my thinking lately. I don't want to serve up stereotypical platitudes, but I know you're an amazing mother! Your kids are confident and content and just plain happy -- you might think that's just their personality :) -- but they've been given the opportunity to flourish and they must be surrounded by love! Awesome post :)
It is strange to me to hear these thoughts coming from RHONDA! You are a great example of what a mother should be. Thanks for challenging us all to be better moms too.
Good one. We all feel like this. Sometimes more than others.
Thanks Rhonda. I need to remember that too! Sometimes I get distracted and put other things first. Those things aren't important in the long run... but Hailey sure is. I'm with you on the pregnancy thing too. It wasn't my favourite thing and we certainly can't 'plan' for the next one either. But hopefully there will be more children for our family and hopefully I will survive and get one of those 'perfect pregnancies' that everyone else has ;)
loved this.
wow, this one hit me hard, rhonda. i needed to hear that badly.
I think if you're even asking yourself that question, than you're doing wonderfully! Motherhood is HARD. No one does it perfectly, and no kid turns out perfectly. There are too many variables, the biggest one being your child's own agency. Even some of the greatest prophets ended up with wayward children. You just have no idea what effect something you do today will have for better or for worse on your kids 20 years from now (not to mention whatever other influences and experiences they will have outside of your home that will affect their character.) But if you are really earnestly trying, than at least you can look back and say that you did the best you could, and all anyone can ever give at any time is their best.
Hahaha - stressful to think about hey? I think sometimes that's why I get absorbed in projects. It's so much easier to decorate a room, or cook a dinner and have it turn out great than it is to mold a human being and guarantee that they'll turn out great (in fact that's impossible!). I guess we all need those little reinforcing moments on occassion (however they come to us) to tell us that we are good at doing things, which can help to give us confidence that we can be good parents too.
It's all about striking the proper balance, and that's tough at times!
The quotation made me miss President Hinckley. He had such a way of encouraging people to try a little harder and reach a little farther than they were doing before.
Motherhood. It's a biggie, isn't it?
I just feel the exact same way. Right down to pregnancy as well. Thanks for writing that.
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