Easter Weekend lessons

We're back home from a very busy Easter weekend in Michigan! We had fun with my family, but it's always nice coming home. The kids are always so excited to get back to their own home, their own toys, their own space.

We spent quite a bit of time with my dad, and spent one day at my mom's house visiting with my aunt, two cousins, and my grandma (one of my favorite people!) 

I was also able to spend an entire afternoon/evening with my best of friends, V :-)  It was such a rare afternoon for us. She is a mom, so neither of us take "time off" too often from our kids.  So we spent the afternoon lying on the couch, watching Americas Next Top Model reruns, and drinking starbucks coffee. It was exactly how we would have spent an afternoon in college (actually, it is how we spent many afternoons in college....)

But inevitably the evening came to an end (at 9 pm.... hey, that's late for us!!) and I looked forward to going home to the kids. It's funny how things have changed.

There are a few people back home, whom I love dearly, who criticize choices I make, who think it's odd that I don't go out more frequently, who think I "deserve" more time out. But the truth is, I enjoy being home with my kids. My number one priority is their well being. My wants and needs are tied up with their happiness. I want my kids to feel secure, I want my kids to grow up feeling loved... I could have a long list of these wants/needs. 

Dying to self should be something Christians are familiar with, but it never seems more concrete than when you have kids. Dying to self is a daily experience for moms. It means choosing laundry instead of a bubble bath. Choosing packing lunches instead of Sex and the City. It's choosing "Cars" over "Step Up". Choosing an evening of wrestling over curling up with your favorite book.

I'm very blessed to have a husband who gives me a break when I feel like I need it, and a God who cares about the times when it gets to feel like a burden.

Happy Easter to everyone, and especially to my friends and family who know the awesome-ness of dying to yourself and coming back to life in Christ.

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