Brothers, Balance and Blessings! Part 2

Balance: A friend with 6 children recently told me that she felt that one of the reasons God had given her each of her children was to reveal to her areas in her life that she had not yet surrendered to the Lord. AMEN!! This is where I feel that God is using my boys to bring balance to me. If you know me very well then you know that I am a perfectionist, but God has used my boys to bring some balance to my perfectionist ways. I now realize that it is OK that everything is not perfect in our home. It is OK that the wash cloths are not folded just right or that the dishes are not put up right where they belong or that its OK if middle brother messes up something while he is trying to help cook supper. This morning I went to Wal-Mart with all 4 kids by myself, a lady mentioned that she was sure there was not a dull moment at my house. She is right, but that brings balance to our days...ho-hum and then a little excitement.

One of the areas that I feel God has revealed to me that I have not completely surrendered to Him is my temper. Yes, you read that right t-e-m-p-e-r. God has brought me a long way and I have grown alot in this area, it doesn't take long for me to see that He is still working on me. The boys especially can bring this to surface, so I know that God has given me these boys for many reasons and one being to show me this unsurrendered area of my life.

Another area that I need balance in and that God is working on is balance with firmness and love. This is something that I know that God is using the boys to bring this balance. When Big brother was born I was all LOVE. I didn't understand firm because I had never been around boys. If you have boys you know that you have to be FIRM! With all children you need to be firm, but for me it is mainly with my boys. Then the older big brother got and then middle brother came along I realized that firmness was something I needed to have. Well, God is working on me to have balance here. I don't need to be one extreme or the other I need balance. It is like God's balance with us, truth and grace. He is not all truth and no grace or all grace and no truth, He has a perfect balance and I should look to Him for an example of balance.

I have had to realize that the interruptions in my day are opportunities for God to form this clay pot into what He wants me to be. Those little interruptions are the biggest blessings. For instance I have been getting up before the kids in the mornings and walking while Bryan is still here. This is the perfect time for me to be alone and spend some time in prayer or worship, I love this time. Every now and then, like this morning, one of my little blessings will have gotten up before I leave and guess what....they want to go walk with mommy. My first response is "NO" this is my time and that temper will start flaring up..."They need to go back to bed and leave me alone, they will ruin my walk." God has so humbled me and showed me that this is a great opportunity to spend with this child(ren) and what better way of worshiping my Lord than by enjoying the gift He has given me. Talk about balance...I get to walk, spend time with the Lord and enjoy being with my children. I will be the first to admit that my life is not a fully balanced life, but I pray that God keeps forming me and that through Him using my children I will live a more surrendered life each and every day.