Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Mothering 24/7

A Little Coaxing



Mothering doesn't end at bedtime, does it?  After a long day of mothering, cooking, cleaning, schooling, you may feel so exhausted....You may even wish for that bedtime to come.

Try not to whisk them off to bed though without that Bible reading, bedtime song, and prayers.  These are the sweetest moments, and they will be gone too fast. You and your children will treasure these moments together, both now and in the future.  They will remember if you always whisked them off to bed "to get rid of them", or if you tenderly got them ready for a peaceful night of slumber.

When they have grown, will you wish you hadn't always been anxiously awaiting when they would be out of your way for the day?  Will you wish you had spent your time more wisely in those fleeting moments?


Goodnight


It is especially tempting for wives of husbands who work late or who are out of town, to plan and plot for when the children will go to bed. Some wives become undisciplined with their time when they don't expect anyone home soon and have no one keeping them accountable. Instead of keeping an early bedtime, some wives use after bedtime hours to stay up late doing meaningless, fruitless tasks, and are not ready to take care of the needs of their families when there are nighttime interruptions.

What about the times a little one comes crying to your bedroom door because of a bad dream? A bloody nose? A bathroom accident? You can be pleasant at these times too. Why do your little ones come to you at these times? Because you are Momma, and no one else will do. They have that God-given expectation that you will help them, comfort them, soothe them, in their time of need. Should you give them help, or angrily thrust them away for disturbing your sleep?

Mother and Child


Yes, mothering is a 24/7 job. To help you be better prepared for this:

Don't stay up late watching TV, reading romance novels, or playing on the computer. Before electricity, people would go to bed much closer to the sunset, and they had to, for there was much work to be done in the morning. Don't use the time after the children go to bed to indulge yourself into the late night hours, but maybe have some alone time with your husband before you go off to bed.  If your husband is not home at this time, what a wonderful opportunity you have to spend some time with the Lord or put some last homemaking touches in the house before you go off to bed.


Prepare yourself mentally by reminding yourself that motherhood is the care of these children who are with you 24/7, to raise, to train, and to nurture in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  Much like our Lord never goes to sleep or leaves His guard over us, we must realize that our job is constant, and doesn't end at a certain hour of the day.  Yes, thankfully, most nights come with a rest from the days toils, but sometimes the children will need us beyond these hours, too.

And that is okay.

Much love.


Linked to:

Domestically Divine Homemaking Link Up
Time Warp Wife
Raising Homemakers
Women Living Well
LACE

19 comments:

  1. This is a beautiful post! I love it!!! And you are spot on on all those points!!!!

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  2. I truly enjoyed this post & was just thinking yesterday at home much time is wasted on fruitless things! I'm not a momma yet... but am definately learning alot about what i'd like to be someday, Lord willing. Lovely post
    -Amanda

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  3. Well wonderful. I am glad you enjoyed it.

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  4. This was truly a delightful post to read. I am sure it will be very encouraging and helpful to the Mothers who read it. Although I am not a Mother in this season of my life, I too learned some vaulable and important lessons about Motherhood.

    Thank you for sharing this. :)

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  5. Beautiful post Mrs. Q that is a fact, we raised 5 and it is a 24-7 job, never a day off, or time to think about ourself, God entrusted these lives to us, to train, and teach, and to love as Christ loves us.

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  6. Wildflower~I still pray that God blessed you with children ♥

    Barbara~so sad that many mothers try to push this responsibility onto someone else because they want so much time to themselves. We mothers are given a great duty.

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  7. Wow! You spoke right to my situation! Beautiful post and full of much needed conviction. I struggle to repress my fleshly desires to have "my own time" at any chance I can get, and feel put off when I am needed or am talked to by my husband when I haven't met his basic needs. It is my job and what I wanted!! I have this attitude partly because I was not raised with a mother like the one you describe. But I am working to be different from her. God bless!

    www.acorkerslife.blogspot.com

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  8. A great reminder! My husband used to travel quite a bit and I found myself staying up later sometimes because of it. It was never fruitful and I always regretted it.

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  9. Yes, in our "me-first" entertainment-centered culture, it can be quite a struggle. We must focus on the Lord and the high calling He has for us. That does not mean there is no leisure time. The womanly arts are of great worth to the homemaker--and a joy to teach to daughters too!

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  10. this was a lovely post Mrs Q and I totally agree that its important not to be so focused on our little ones getting to bed that we miss the delight of those evening hours, the story times, the sweet cuddles and lullabies. I have definitely had many a night where I rock my baby girl just a little longer, to savour the moments that I know are so fleeting.

    And I also agree that we cannot be up all night watching tv or doing other persuits that rob us of the rest that we need. And of course that time after the kiddies are in bed is a great time to connect with our husband (and our Lord!).

    The only caveat I would add, however, is that I dont think we should totally demonize time to ourselves. I think as moms who really care about being the wives and mothers that God has called us to be, there can be a lot of guilt for those of us who, by personality design, just need a little quiet time to ourselves in a day. I am definitely one of those people, and I believe its just the way the Lord made me. I need a half an hour or so to just unwind and look at a cookbook or check my email or read a blog or whatever after my daughter goes to sleep (or while she takes a nap or whahtever, just some time in the day), so that I feel like I've had a little relaxation. you can call it "me time" if you want to, but I thin in the right proportions, as long as we are still caring for our families, there is nothing wrong with it.

    Thanks for the lovely post and encouragement to us moms. :)

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  11. Excellent post my, dear friend!
    You made so many good points in this encouraging word to wives and mothers.
    I know that when my boys were small those moments at bedtime were precious for sowing into their souls, and they often confided important things to me at the end of the day.
    Yes..at times I was tempted to rush them, but I'm so glad I didn't!
    I know them more deeply today because of investing that special time with them.
    Thank you for linking to LACE, Mrs Q!
    God bless you..Trish

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  12. Thank you for this post. It is so encouraging!

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  13. Thank you so much for this post! I am really struggling with not staying up late doing frivolous "tasks". Thanks for the reminder and encouragement.

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  14. Mrs. Q, excellent advice. Thank you. I feel so much better when I tuck them in peacefully and then go to sleep myself. I rise early and much happier.

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  15. Isn't it wonderful the ways that the Lord leads us to the wisdom we need? I am actually reading this after 1 am. Not a wise thing to be doing. God speaks to me in so many ways. Thank you for this post and I will truly take it to heart. I never want to miss out on anything with my babies and they are growing so fast. Guess it's time to go to bed earlier and get a new routine. :-)

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  16. What a true, sweet and beautiful post. I have four daughters that the Lord blessed me with. So much of what I have read in your posts are the same things I would love to articulate to others as well in encouragement. Thank you for your beautiful blog and even more for your beautiful heart.
    Blessings, Cass

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