A Wife Loved Like The Church

I get trapped in the moment a lot. Not a savor-this-sweetness moment. But it’s counter moment, the can’t-this-just-stop-already moment.

As Julia is screaming out “mama” for the fourteenth time because her covers aren’t just so, I hit that can’t-this-stop moment. Tired. Tripping over little shoes. Stumbling back into their room. Ready for it to stop.

While standing in the girls’ room, covering and recovering, and doing my best to keep my attitude in check, I realized – This is not the big picture.

I get so trapped in these moments with my kids, moments that seem to last forever, but they don’t. Really, they don’t. Sure, will Julia get upset over her covers again? Of course. Will Hannah cry in hysterics over not getting that banana and being forced to eat this banana? I’m certain. Will Joseph decide that sleep is only for babies, and now that he has three teeth he is not longer a baby? Sigh. Yes. But will these moments last forever? No.

At times, those can’t-this-just-stop-already moments take over and I forget the big picture of our lives. I forget that I can make a choice in those moments to make sure that my actions {and reactions} point to our family’s big picture. The picture of loving each other as Christ does. The picture of sacrifice with joy. The picture of a family in unity. And in those moments, I can show my kids the big picture by doling out an extra dose of hugs and grace, and loving them where they are.