sweet morsels of truth

I have been recently lacking the joy that my children deserve when I am with them each day. Granted, we have had the stomach flu, pink eye, coughs, and other lovely germ manifestations sweep through our home during the last couple of weeks which have made it a bit challenging to walk around the house with a smile on my face. But functioning from below the surface is a place I'd like to inhabit more often.

I love going back through the highlighted sections in books that gave me glimpses into myself and the possibilities of what the Lord can do in my life. One book that encourages me to walk the journey in joy is The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. Her words remind me to get out of myself and remember who I am in Christ and my purpose in where the Lord has me at this stage of my life.

No matter where you are on this road of discovering and living out the mission of motherhood, you can take steps sorward. Even more important, you can trust God to bring you forward. After all, we serve a redeeming God, a God of second chances, a God whose whole history has been that of seeking out his wayward people and bringing them back into his fold...When we acknowledge our shortcomings and failures to him, he is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness...He has promised to support those whose hearts are completely his (2 Chronicles 16:9). The most important factor in being successful as a mother is to turn our hearts to God, to seek his will, and to allow him to begin making sense out of the messes we've made of our lives. He who created motherhood is the gentle teacher whose ways and input we must seek.

Sally Clarkson, The Mission of Motherhood