Dear Mom Who Was In Tears Today

I bent down and looked into the refrigerator.  Everyone had already eaten without me, and the kids had already put the food away as they began their kitchen clean-up routine.  (Lest you be jealous that my kids were cleaning the kitchen for me — don't.  This is simply the training stage right now.  You can be jealous in a couple years when it's actually clean after they've cleaned it.  But hey, they're learning.)

I was so hungry.  My blood sugar was way too low and I was shaking.  I try to be very good about keeping myself fed, but today had just been one of those days where I couldn't seem to get the timing right.  Every time I tried to get a bite to eat, my precious little 7 week old decided it was her turn to eat first.

I hadn't felt very productive with the housework that day either.  She just needed a lot more attention than usual – probably going through a growth spurt – plus there was the usual grind of life with all the other kids.

As I dug through the refrigerator to figure out which container held the remainder of dinner, hoping that they had even saved me any, my hands were shaking so badly that I was dropping things on the floor.  I needed to eat – NOW – but it didn't seem like it would be an easy feat to get my food served up without creating an even bigger mess in the kitchen as I dropped food and dishes.

In an instant, tears welled up in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks.  The hunger of the moment and the weariness of the day had finally gotten to me.

As I stood up and closed the refrigerator, what should be staring me in the face but a little magnet containing a Scripture verse that was exactly what I needed to see in that moment!

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”  (Psalm 126:5)

I caught my breath, in awe that God should encourage me with a verse about tears just as my own tears had begun to flow.

It seemed such a pathetic, unimportant thing that I should be in tears over being hungry and tired.

But God cared.

In another instant, another verse came to mind:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9)

That encouragement from God's Word gave me more energy than the food I consumed a few minutes later.

God gave me such a timely reminder that the daily grind of motherhood is worth it!  In due season
I will reap the harvest of all these days of hard work.

The sacrifice of my time and effort, and yes, even of a meal on occassion, will be rewarded with the pleasure of knowing my children have experienced a lifetime of learning about the love of the Savior both through my words and my actions.

So, dear mama who was in tears today, remember this:

 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.