Her Children Arise & Call Her…Busy

Have you had this moment today? You know, the moment when you slap your forehead and say, “I can’t believe I forgot this!”

Maybe it was a birthday, an anniversary, a meeting, or maybe you have even left one of your children somewhere! Guilty – well my husband is guilty! He left our then 2 year old son at church once when I was home with the flu.

What causes these “oh crap” moments when you just want to bang your head against the wall?

The whirlwind of life my friends. We get sucked in and then the whirlwind slings us out at the end of the day exhausted onto the couch.

I am kind of past those mommy years when there are ball games, school events, and end of school year parties. Oh, but I do remember them. And even when you are past those years, other forces combine to create a whole new kind of whirlwind.

I am kind of scared to know what memories are in my childrens’ heads about me. As a young mom, I stayed way busier than I should have. Two years in particular, I was extremely foolish.  I was finishing up National Boards, we were building a house, and I served on a state education committee. The kids were about 7 and 10. What was I thinking?

I am afraid they would not be able to say what Proverbs 31:28 says…”Her children arise and call her blessed…”

Nope – mine would have been more like, “Her children arise and call her busy (or tired or ill).” <Tweet this

It’s as if moms of our generation think being busy = being important. <TWEET THIS

Nothing could be farther from the truth…the truly important things are the ones we are ignoring as we have our head buried in our cell phones and the ones we kiss goodbye as we run out the door. Let’s look up from the phone more often into their eyes and really listen.

I share my mistakes in hopes to give you moms on the front end of parenting permission to say NO to some events or some opportunities that come your way. If you say yes to everything, you will lose focus on your first priorities – God and family.

I can’t go back and reclaim precious time lost. Period. It is gone. But I also refuse to dwell in those mistakes. At any point in life, we can start fresh and pour into the lives of even our adult children. No matter what age they are, they still crave mom’s attention and time.

And as a bonus, we will have fewer moments like our dinosaur friends :)!