So, does changing diapers have anything to do with God? How does the spiritual part of our lives mesh with our day to day responsibilities? I hope it does, otherwise I have no hope of being spiritual until my children get older! As I thought about this, I took a list of the attributes of a spiritual person (found in the Bible, in Galatians chapter 5) and defined each attribute in terms of my life as a Mom. Here’s the list:
Love: holding my daughter for the first time in hospital, after a three-hour wait that seems like eternity.
Joy: watching my son unwrap his birthday presents
Peace: sitting quietly nursing my daughter, watching her drift off to sleep.
Patience: waiting for my son to finish what he’s doing, time permitting, instead of inflicting my agenda on him.
Goodness: taking my children to the zoo because they will enjoy it, even though I don’t feel like it.
Kindness: sitting my son on my lap and reading to him although his whining makes me feel like running away!
Faithfulness: continuing to look after my children despite feeling totally unappreciated! Yet another dirty diaper…
Gentleness: being respectful of my children, rather abusing my authority over them.
Self-control: not “losing it” when I “discipline” my children, so that I have nothing to regret later
Our lives will get out of balance unless we remember that we really can encounter God through the everyday frustrations and pleasures of motherhood. Jesus taught that whatever we do for children, we are doing for Him.