What Does a Mom Do?

When I ask what a mom does, I don't mean all the tangible things like laundry, dishes, baseball practice, and mopping the floor. While those are all important, I am talking about something infinitely more important. 

What I mean is, what are the things that a mother does that bring extra life to her family? 

There is an old Jewish Proverbs which says, "A mother understands what a child does not say".

I don't care what kind of mother you are, what your parenting philosophy is, or how you became a mother. Once you are a mom you have the ability (if you put down your phone and turn off the TV) to listen to the deepest longings of your children's hearts.

In my home you can periodically hear any one of my kids asking for "mommy magic". 

I wish I could give you a clear definition of what that is, but I really can't because it changes every single day based upon the needs of my family. 

Here are a few things mommy magic has been in our home:

• painting snow with real paint
• putting Christmas lights in their bedroom
• playing shaving cream with food coloring
• playing their favorite song loudly in the car with windows rolled down
• having a candlelit dinner... just because
• playing in mud and getting absolutely filthy
• picking up pretty rocks on a walk and displaying them proudly around the house
• jumping in rain puddles for the purpose of getting soaked
• baking cookies together at seven in the morning and then having cookies and milk for breakfast   
• a vase full of beautiful flowers that you picked together on a walk. 

As moms we have the incredible opportunity to learn and understand our children in a way that almost no one else ever will. It a HUGE responsibility but it is also an incredible gift! 

Moms make magic so that we can answer the tiny unheard (and often unspoken) needs of our children. 

Sometimes the worst behavior (especially in small children) is caused because they feel left out and unseen. Ephesians 6:4 tells us, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.” This verse makes me think about how our heavenly Father ALWAYS meets us where we are with love and compassion. 

For young children (and older children often!) love is letting them be children, allowing them to be silly, loud, and messy. God never fails to grant us mercy after a hissy fit or grace despite our shortcomings. 

He grants us rainbows after storms and His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). 

Lets do the same for our children.