Titus 2

Have you ever wondered why certain thoughts come to you from out of nowhere...and at the strangest of moments? While vacuuming, I was recall the period in life when I was a young mom. Not that I'm by any means old, but specifically the first few years of parenting. I was married for two and a half years before welcoming our first child. And in that short span of time, Hubs and I created a game plan regarding child rearing. We foolishly (or shall I say "pridefully"?) determined that our children would be impeccably well behaved, well spoken of, and well polished. I know. I still hang my head in shame thinking that I could break the cycle of imperfect children. (How foolish.)

I had so much to learn in that time period. So much pride to dismantle. In those first few years I grew incredibly insecure about how incompetent I truly felt as a mom. But, like most "good" moms do, I put my best game face on and continued the facade of complete confidence. Inside I was falling apart at the seams...and felt I had no one to confide in.

At that time in our lives, we were part of a growing church. There were many other younger moms and so I felt the safety in numbers. I watched the other moms carefully and realized that they didn't quite have it together, either. It was comforting to know there was a secret organization of us mothers whom were ready to pull our hair out at any given moment. Although we never really voiced it. I know I didn't. Because that would mean admitting weakness. Heaven forbid. (How foolish.)

Within this growing church there were many "retired" moms. (Do you ever really fully retire? I doubt it....) Mothers whom were in the next stage of life. Their children grown and flown the coop. So to speak. And these ladies had their sanity still in tact. All their hairs, as well. These ladies were our mentors, whether they knew it or not. They all gathered themselves together and blessed us young mothers with the gift of encouragement. They arranged us into groups, welcomed us into their homes, and fed us with delicious food and heaped servings of wisdom and a side of encouragement. I never felt so honored and yet humbled at the same time. These women saw a need and a responsibility. The Bible talks about this very thing in Titus 2. The aged women sharing wisdom to the younger. This was such an encouragement to me at that particular point in my life. I so desperately was in need. I have to smile when I think about what that one hour a night for a few weeks meant to me. They may have seen it as a small thing...I saw it as huge. Even huger now that I'm older. What a sacrificial kind of love they had.

In the distant future I will become one of those "aged" ladies. This season of life will blossom into the next. I hope God imprints the young mothers on my heart. I hope I can show them as much love, grace and encouragement as was shown to me in the challenging season of becoming a parent.

All this from a few minutes of vacuuming...who knew?