See good in all one's labor

My rewards!!!

My daily struggle: to cheerfully be interrupted and walk away from whatever work/activity I am doing to toil for, instruct, discipline, play with, or teach my two little boys!  Often, I am annoyed or frustrated with constant interruptions or the fact that breakfast dishes don't get cleaned up until lunch time, or that I have started making the bed at least 5 times before I actually get that last pillow case on!  But you know what, in light of how much my kids need me, those things don't matter!  I would much rather my boys learn what God teaches about sharing and looking after the interests of others than whether or not my bed has been made all day. And really, I am just being selfish in wanting to finish cleaning the dishes right at that exact moment, because once I do get a free minute, I will often squander it on something else that is just fun for me, like texting or reading a blog!

Last night, I finished reading a book titled "Loving the Little Years" by Rachel Jankovic.  I highly recommend this book to any mother (or father!) who has little kids.  Rachel is herself in the midst of raising 5 children who are 5 years and younger when writing the book.  Her perspective on grace and how to parent with a healthy measure of it is refreshing and encouraging.  She is raw and honest in her writing.  Plus, it is broken into short little chapters that stand alone, so you can easily read it while being interrupted:)  She shares some verses in Ecclesiastes that are a great encouragement to me as a mother.

Ecclesiastes 5:18  Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and see good in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.

Will I see good in a messy house while I am patiently instructing my son that we can have joy in sharing with others, or why people die, or respect is a way to show God's love to others?  Will I count as a reward the toil God has given me in cleaning off the same highchair tray 5 times a day, or getting up at night to nurse or get my preschooler a drink of water?  Will I delight in my children as I wipe their noses, listen to their long stories about bees stinging their toy truck (how cute), and be consistent in requiring them not to play with the blinds during nap time?  Often I remind myself that one day I will wake up and my children will be grown and I will desperately miss their baby noises, tiny poopy bottoms, and imaginative impossible stories.  But I will regret having a sparkling house and clean bed sheets every week instead of close relationship with my fast growing boys.