The following are scenes from
the life of my wife, mother to my three children.
Scene 1
I walk in the house just
coming in from a day at work. While in the midst of cooking dinner, Caitlin has
her hands greased with hamburger meat. Lydia is on the floor crying her head
off, because she wants to be picked up. Meanwhile, I hear Abigail’s voice cry
out from the bathroom, “Mommy, I pooped! Come help me!”
Scene 2
I arrive home to eat lunch
and am told the following story while heating up leftovers. “So this morning
while I was taking a shower, Daniel decided to pour himself a cup of milk. He
sat it on the end-table beside the couch. When I got out of the shower, I discovered
that Daniel and Abigail had went outside to play. In the meantime, Lydia went
exploring. She found Daniel’s cup of unfinished milk and tipped it over into
the floor. When I came out of the shower, I found Lydia sitting in a puddle of
milk happily patting her hands in it.”
Scene 3
We are late for church. Abigail
is crying because she doesn’t like the dress, Caitlin has picked out for her. She
wants to wear the “Elsa dress.” They butt heads over clothing. Copious tears
are shed by a three-year-old who thinks she’s sixteen. Meanwhile, Daniel is having
a meltdown because we are leaving and he doesn’t have all the Lego blocks he
wants to take to church. He is told by his mother, “You should have already
picked those out 30-miutes ago when I first told you to get ready.” She hurriedly
pours goldfish into a Ziplock bag. We finally get everyone in the van, and make
a few minutes down the road when she says, “Wait! We have to go back! I forgot
my music and I’m supposed to sing during service.”
Motherhood. It’s messy, chaotic,
unpredictable and exhausting. I see her struggle with it daily. If there’s a
harder job on earth, I surly can’t think of it. To be called “Mom” is blessed
burden you might say. She will shape young lives and in the process, she will
be shaped. It is God’s sanctifying agent in her life. Through it she is
learning patience, sacrifice, humility, dependence and strength. She is molding
young lives. Teaching them to pray and be kind and brush their teeth. She disciplines
and she diapers. She worships and she washes. She is tough and tender.
The above is only the half
of it. My helpmate is a busy bee. There’s daily homeschooling. There are the
weekly church bulletins that she writes. The Sunday School lessons she organizes
for the children’s teachers. There’s praise team practice with a baby strapped
to her chest. Planning, organizing and fretting over VBS. Don’t forget late
night and early morning Bible studies with other moms. She isn’t on staff at
the church, but she should be. Unpaid and underappreciated as I shout from the
bedroom in her direction, “Hey Mommy, I’m out of underwear.”
Here’s what Proverbs 31
says about a godly wife, “12 She does him good and not evil all the days of her
life . . . 27 She watches over the ways of her household and does not eat the
bread of idleness. . . 30 A woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”
That’s my Caitlin.
Men if you have a wife
like this love her like Jesus. She is a precious treasure. Diamonds and rubies
could never replace her. Pray for her. Only God can give her the strength
to do the job she’s called to do. Help her. Don’t expect her to do
everything. Do what you can to lessen her heavy load. The piles of laundry keep
growing, and the dishes are always dirty. Learn from her. I have learned
much about my own sinfulness by watching my wife. She is God’s mirror showing me
warts and all. “God, help me to be a better man for her,” is my prayer.
Moms you have my applause.
I marvel at your God-given abilities. You are a special gift of grace. For
every meal, every lesson, every bandaged knee and bedtime story we are
thankful.
Thank God for moms like
Samuel’s Hannah who prayed for him before he was born. Thank God for moms like
Moses’ Jacobed who changed the world by raising up tomorrow’s leader. Thank God
for moms like Jesus’ Mary who wept at the foot of the cross and hurt when their
children are hurt. Thank God for moms like Linda and Caitlin and Trudy who look
like Proverbs 31.
My Lord. All I have known
my whole life is Your grace, for I have been surrounded by such beautiful,
godly, faithful women. I love you all. -DM
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