We have a love jar in our home. It is a tool for Family Home Evening that
we use to start or finish our family time together. It is filled with messages
of appreciation and love from throughout the week. ie 'We love daddy because he
works so hard' or 'India did a great job at sharing'. The children love to read
it. They especially enjoy hearing praise specific to their actions.
Lately we have neglected the love jar. It has sat,
lifeless on the top shelf for a few months now. I do not believe it is a
coincidence that the past few months, though free of any major crisis, have felt a
little lifeless at times also. I whole heartedly believe this comes down to the fact that I have neglected the time it would take to think about
and express my gratitude for the small mercies of the week. The fragile and
fleeting moments of kindness and sacrifice have gone unnoticed or under appreciated. The tenderness of our home has been
impacted as a result and in turn the tenderness of my Mothering has too.
Dinner and bath time have been tedious,
discipline and cleaning spills has seemed endless, dancing and laughter still boil at the surface but have not spilled over as often as they should. Raising small children is hard work, but it is also the
only work I would want to be doing when I really sit back and think about it.
It has afforded me the greatest growth and the greatest joy. And at the end of
the long hard days there is peace.
We are healthy, we are blessed, and we are together. I
couldn't ask for more (even if somedays I feel to ask for less!). I am ever appreciative of those people in my life, who through inspiration, have felt to call, or message, or stop by at the exact moment i have needed their love and compassion the most. It is a constant testament to me that I am loved and I have so much love to give. I hope I can do so with more joy.
*thanks for the quote in the title Carmen
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