The Mother In Me

I just finished reading this wonderful book! It made me laugh, cry and appreciate and love being a mother so much more! Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

For me, the secret of enjoying motherhood is in the moments. To stop and hear the peals of laughter, to touch the tiny hands, to notice the organic smell of their sun-warmed bodies after they come in from playing outside on a hot day - and to be deliberate enough to enjoy it all. Who - when they've slowed down enough and have come outside of themselves enough - could not enjoy a child? This is the surest way I know of enjoying motherhood - ENJOYING my children. Taking the time and learning the skill of being present in the moment.
There is so much to see, to ask, to notice, to laugh at, to pause and enjoy, to delight in.
-Emily Halverson

I have no idea how to ensure that my children walk in truth, especially in a changeable world with unchangeable Truth. I don't know how to teach them modesty in the midst of nakedness, etiquette within rudeness, to be in the world but not of worldly thoughts and gesticulation. I am daily unsure how to show them a rod that is clearly marked, but sometimes dimly lit or hidden by glaring neon signs pointing toward great and spacious surroundings. But I do know who holds the answers, and I know how to ask the Teacher my questions, not with a raised hand, but with a bowed head.
-Heather Harris Bergevin

It occurs to me that Heavenly Father is a perfect parent. He does not take my imperfections upon Himself as a badge of bad parenting. He doesn't assume my flaws are due to some mistake on His part. Heavenly Father is creating me, shaping me, watching me struggle to get along, to meet others' needs. He's hoping, prodding, sending me to my room on occasion, trying to teach me to be more like Him. He's not hiding under the covers, wondering where He went wrong. He knows where I went wrong, but does not extend that reflection to himself. I, in turn, have my own set of hoping, prodding, and creating to do. Somehow, I've got to mourn my children's failures with them, not for them.
-Justine Clarice Dorton

However our children come to us, even those connected to us by covenant, we cannot claim them as "ours". We are stewards of God's children. We are all, in a sense, adoptive parents, caring for the children of divine parents. To receive with grace the children of Deity, to point them homeward toward glory, is the sacred task of parenthood.
-Lisa Meadows Garfield