My Charlotte Baby
turns a year old, tomorrow, and I am SO very excited about “all things
butterfly”, right now! Brandon and I
came across a darling butterfly onesie for her to wear at her party, and then
Auntie Ashley bought her an adorable butterfly costume to go along with it –
complete with wings and a wand. SMILE! The older girls and I made finger-painted
butterflies to hang off the pretty white railing in the kitchen . . . I have
bulletin-board-style “books” on the wall, representing each of the classics
I’ve posed her with, as she’s grown a month older . . . You’d think she was our
first! But EACH baby is special in our
home! When I look back, we never would
have decided on our own to have two babies just 15 months apart, but God had
better plans – beautiful plans – “Butterfly Plans” . . . Charlotte Allison has
filled our home with such sunshine! Such
sunshine we would have missed if we had “planned” our babies, rather than being
BLESSED by them!
I know I amuse
the masses, when a 4’10” woman walks through the grocery store, pushing 2
carts, completely loaded down with 4 children and 2-weeks-worth of food and
diapers. I realize there are many who
think we “ended up” with this many babies, because we were “trying” for a boy .
. . Or, perhaps, because we are somehow uneducated regarding birth control . .
. A sweet friend recently commented to
me that she didn’t realize I’d gone as far as “Advanced Mathematics” in high
school . . . There’s a lot that people don’t know about me when they see me
with my Little Crew . . . My Magna Cum Laude honors in college, the unpublished
poems and works of historical fiction on my shelf, the detailed scrapbooks I
designed in my teens and early 20s . . . Right now, I’m “Mommy” more hours of
the day than any other role. But I
haven’t “lost my identity” . . . I know that one day, some activities will
return to my life again. And so much of
who I am and what I enjoy IS being used, even during this stage of life – just
in different ways than they were before.
It is the same way with you!
Somewhere down the line, you learned how to keep on going, even on very
few hours of sleep. You acquired skills
that help you document your home schooling, organize everything from toys to
socks, and plan weekly meals for your family.
You can decorate for a birthday party or host a holiday
celebration. There are so many personal touches
that make your house a home. You are WHO
GOD MADE YOU TO BE! Having a family doesn’t change that!
But the devil
likes to make us feel lost, overwhelmed, and uncertain of who we really
are. He feeds us the world’s philosophy
that children are a burden, and that having “too many” makes our life
meaningless and leaves us miserable.
Does it feel wonderful to put on a fancy dress and to have time for
bobby pins, once in a while? Of course it does!
Do you sometimes feel as though you’re getting a breath of fresh air,
when you put on make-up and remember you have a pair of heels that actually
MATCHES the dress you’re wearing?!
Absolutely! But you haven’t “lost
yourself” in this realm of motherhood! I
promise you! You are someone incredibly
special and important – to your husband, to your children, and to your
Savior! Seeing the dishes filling the
sink and overflowing onto the countertops may bring you to tears, tonight, but
you are a DAUGHTER OF THE KING! “And
if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ . . .”
(Romans 8:17). You are UNIQUE! Yes, YOU!
The precious Mama who changed 10 diapers, today, and scrubbed the
kitchen floor with your bare hands . . . YOU are unique! You are PRECIOUS and PRICELESS! “For
ye are bought with a price . . .” (I Corinthians 6:20) A price so high, we cannot even fathom it
– the very SON OF GOD GAVE HIS LIFE FOR YOU!
Do not be downcast and discouraged! Do not wonder if this “journey of motherhood”
is for you! It IS! If God has made you a mother, then it is His
PLAN for you! His PERFECT plan! And no amount of dirty dishes is going to
keep Him from using you in a very special way . . . “ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us . . .” (Ephesians 3:20) “But
as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
(I Corinthians 2:9) It is a
PROMISE! Don’t give up hope! Things may seem dreary and bleak, but God has
given you your talents for a reason, Dear Mama! God has made you WHO YOU ARE
for a reason! No talent is a “waste” . .
. No life is a “waste” . . .
Yes, there were days, last year, when I wondered if
any part of the “real me” still existed . . . When I felt like motherhood was “closing
in” on me . . . It was a bit overwhelming when we found out we were expecting
Charlotte, just 7 months after our Cheyenne was born! But how VERY grateful I am that, “ . . . my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8)!
What smiles and joy she has brought us!
How delightful and precious she is!
How MUCH I have ENJOYED my role as mother, this fourth time around! And what would our lives have been like
without her?! How plain might my kitchen
be through this month of August, were it not for a certain Baby’s “Butterfly
Party”?! God had better plans – beautiful plans – “Butterfly Plans” . . . And amid the laundry, the dust, and
the mess, God has “Butterfly Plans” in store, for you, too, Sweet Sister in
Christ! Please don’t let your calling as “Mama” become something bitter or sour! Hold onto the joy that is found
in our Savior! Hold onto the beauty of the life God has given to you! Trust HIM with your future! And remember that YOU are SPECIAL to GOD!
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