How Motherhood Fills You (But Not Really)
You have your hands full!
The baby was crying crocodile tears because she couldn’t stand up in the grocery cart. My three-year-old was trying to throw the box of mac ‘n cheese out of the back while sitting on the bag of grapes. Then, my five-year-old brought me a candy bar with begging eyes and I was trying to check out.
You have your hands full! I wanted to look at the woman and say, “DUH!?!”
Instead, I smiled embarrassingly. I never knew what to say to people.
Recently, I read the most encouraging article and ever since it has changed the way I respond (either out loud or in my heart) when I hear those words:
You have your hands full.
In her article Motherhood is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank), one of my favorite authors, (Rachel Jankovic from the Femina website) said:
When my little girl told me, “Your hands are full!” I was so thankful that she already knew what my answer would be. It was the same one that I always gave: “Yes they are—full of good things!”
Yes, our hands are full of crumbs, chores, and sleep-less nights.
They’re full of…
naked baby dolls.
stained outfits.
cuddles.
and…
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It takes patience to allow me to quietly pick up the box of mac ‘n cheese and tell my three-year-old, “Thank you for helping me put things up here, but try to do it easy!” Also, it takes strength from God to silently ignore the cries of my baby, who is upset because she is buckled in, but safe. It takes a deep breath and reminders of my own need of grace to gently tell my five-year-old, “No candy today. We will have some fruit later.”
In other words, when the woman at the grocery store tells me I have my hands full – may I strive to remember that they are – full of good things!
But in the end only God fills us. So mother, seek Him. He is enough and will fill you. Amen.
Sarah E. Frazer is a writer and Bible study mentor at sarahefrazer.com. She is the wife of Jason and mother of five who all serve as full-time missionaries in Honduras. Her passion is to encourage women to fall in love with the Bible. Sarah is the author of several Bible study resources for women. She shares tools for deep-rooted Bible study at sarahefrazer.com. Follow her on Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/sarah_e_frazer) and join her free prayer challenge at sarahefrazer.com/prayer
This literally made me cry. And I love that the photo worked as a perfect header. You have such a big heart! It’s beautiful!
Thanks Ashton! And I love ALL the photos! 🙂
Oh, thank you so much for this reminder. It is so true!