What are the other moms doing right now?

Are they picking up toys? Are they scratching their heads over dinner? Are they completing their evening routine by plopping down on the couch at ten o'clock to play Dr. Mario? Are they procrastinating Christmas planning? I freely admitted recently, "I'd like to be a fly on your wall, to see how home-schooling works in your house." The other mom laughed, "I don't want any flies on the wall!"

I've been struggling a bit lately with feeling isolated. The bulk of my world is within these four walls; the bulk of my time is spent with three small children who's needs are many. Though I am quite pleased with my life and my daughters are a joy to me, I can give in to the sin of self-pity. Usually I carry on with life, being moved along by the tyranny of the urgent, not realizing that I haven't talked to another adult all day. And on top of that, I haven't left the house in three days. And as if that wasn't enough, I realize that all the time spent in this house has been rather unproductive to my eyes. The work of a mother's hands is, after all, never done and always undone. Then it hits me, "I deserve better than this. My life should be more interesting. My adventures are too mundane. Seriously, I am adventure mama ;)" This is the voice of my own flesh speaking, and not a voice I should listen to. But listen I do, with eagerness sometimes. So I'm galloping off again, fighting a battle that wasn't meant for me. Praise God, He has given us every good gift in Christ Jesus. When I stop listening to myself and start preaching to myself, I remember that God is all powerful, and all-knowing, and loving too. With a bigger, better view of God, I am at peace with life right where I am. In fact, I embrace it. I smile when my three year old offers to pray for her mommy at breakfast, knowing that God is at work here, within these four walls. I am puttering along, haphazardly doing tasks that will demand my attention again tomorrow, but God is doing something that won't be undone.

God was kind to me this week by bringing me around to this old post. I was refreshed and encouraged by this woman's perspective, realizing again that staying at home with my children is not about laundry. Or dinner menus. Or constructive playtime. Or flawlessly executing feed/sleep/wake schedules. Here is the excerpt that spoke to me most strongly, telling me that I am adventure mama-

You are not a STAY at home anything. You are a woman on the move, a woman on a journey. You are in perpetual spiritual pilgrimage. You are following
your Master, your children traipsing behind. Everyday you are packing up
and leaving behind one spiritual, emotional, physical time and space…..you
are growing, your children are growing, your role in His Kingdom is growing….and at day’s end, you are somewhere very different. In a different heart space, in a
different time space, in a different spiritual space. Take it seriously. You are
not stagnantly staying anywhere. You are leading your children towards the
Promised Land. Don’t get side-tracked, don’t laze about, don’t linger behind….God is moving before you, the Cloud is guiding you----Pack up and follow!

Here's where this post turns into a comedy...are you wondering what other moms are doing right now? They are doing exactly as you are! I guffawed when I read Terri's post today. Don't go any further before clicking over to Terri's post! I have been contemplating writing something of similar nature...very, very similar indeed. Here's proof (I took this picture on November 5th)-

We are enjoying our tree as it gathers leaves through the month. It has been a delight to give thanks with friends and family as they've added their words to the tree. I'll have to post them all later...

For now, I'm going to medicate my self-pity at the Thanksgiving Tree.