a beautiful quote...

[momnloveit]

I have been having some struggles as a mommy lately. last night as I was praying and doing some soul searching, a quote I have on one of my walls came to me. I thought Id share it.

They are idols of hearts and of households,
They are angels of God in disguise.
The sunlight still sleeps in their tresses,
His glory still gleams in their eyes.
These truants from home and from heaven,
They have made me more manly and mild,
And i know now how Jesus could liken
The Kingdom of God to a child.

[artemesia]

thank you for the lovely quote. It is similar in sentiment to a realization that dawned on me recently, that dd is here to teach me, not the other way around (which is the paradigm that is most commonly spread).
All the things that she does that really drive me nuts are arrows pointing to the parts of me that need to be modified. For example, it always seems like when I most need to be ready and out of the door in a hurry, dd dawdles or protests my leaving. A few months ago I would have thought the remedy to the situation was to explain why it was important for me to leave on time, and bang my head against the wall with frustration when my well meaning lesson failed to reach it's mark. But now I see it differently in one of those "oh duh" moments, that who really needed the lesson was me, a lesson on getting my priorities straight and not rushing the things in my life and home so I can conform to someone elses time expectations. And I must say, things go much more smoothly these days and I feel like I am a better person. If we stop trying to shove children into little molds then perhaps they can help us to reshape our hearts for the better.
Who laughs deeper and freer and with more joy, an unencumbered child or a proper mature adult?