26 Jul Perspective is Key

You know motherhood can be a lot of curveballs at times… I heard a speaker once say “You can wake up Mary Poppins and go to bed acting like Cruella De Vil”. I mean. I’ve never done that. I’m just saying it could happen… 😉

I remember when my kids were all under 5 and we had this peek melt down afternoon that was turning into drama city. We had just got home from pre-school, I was taking care of laundry and we were all upstairs… I asked my 5 year old to change his clothes which turned into a full on melt down and tantrum, as he told me falling on his knees yelling like a crazed person “I am NOT going to do it!!”

Then my 3 year old (who hadn’t napped and was crying about pretty much everything) couldn’t get his train to switch on and started screaming, threw it and then himself on the floor yelling “it’s not working, it’s not working!!”

My 2 year old feisty little princess decided that she didn’t like all this attention the boys were getting, so then proceeded to throw herself around my feet half crying “mama, mama, mama”.

I know it’s probably a hilarious picture. I’ve told this story to friends and they were in hysterics laughing.

There are moments as a mom where I have no idea what on earth to do. This was one. I mean I’ve read countless books, gone through training seminars, etc. In this situation, I started to try to talk but they were all feeding off of each other’s craziness and no one could even hear me.

And so I took 5 year old by the hand and said, “YOU come with me”.

I walked him to his room and closed the door.

I took 3 year old by the hand and did the same.

And then the dear 2 year old princess, I picked her up legs kicking, placed her in her room and said “Not fun!”

Then I sat in the hallway listening to them all scream and…. I cried.

I cried and I cried. There was a lot going on in our life at that time. Even without that, I felt completely spent as a Mom. Through my sobs I told God I can’t do this. I am raising crazy children. I am so tired. How on earth am I supposed to raise these kids like you want me too? How on earth can I be who you want me to be?

Somehow, at the same time I also started saying in my heart—NO. NO. NO. I refuse to give in to this frustration and stress only to lose out on heavens perspective. I refuse to accept a negative perspective. This God inside of me, I want it to be real. It has to be real in my life.

And somehow I pulled myself together, went into each other their rooms and talked and worked through each issue. Then we moved on.

Over the next few days, I problem solved and tried to work through some of the issues we were having (sometimes small adjustments make a huge difference). I talked to a few moms for support/help. My husband & I talked through some things and then, there are always the areas that just need grace and time until they will “be better”.

I’ve realized something over my years as a parent and even wife. When I re-center my heart and focus on goodness, things in my life eventually follow suit. Thinking and talking about all the good things until my heart changes has been a big key in my life. It doesn’t mean the problems go away nor that I don’t have to deal with them. But the stress reactions leave and I respond from a much more centered place of God’s peace and perspective.

Proverbs 23:7 says… “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is”. Change your thoughts, change your perspective, and you change your life. It’s so easy to lose heart. It’s so easy for circumstances to change our perspective and then we start being negative. Then everything around us becomes negative.

Perspective of the heart is key. It changes everything. Offer the pain, the frustration- whatever it is in your life. Offer it to God and ask him to change your perspective back to goodness, to greatness. Work on changing your heart perspective on the inside to goodness and then watch things unfold in your life for good.

Ps. 27….

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Best~  Autumn