Erma Bombeck once said, “It is not until you become a mother that your judgement slowly turns to compassion and understanding.”

She also said, “Onion rings in the car cushions do not improve with time.”

I’m convinced Erma and I would have been good friends.

I’ve learned a lot on this journey called motherhood and I’m thankful for people who find humor in each day.

I’ve learned that if  your child asks you to smell their hand… you don’t do it.

If your toothbrush is wet BEFORE you go to use it…you open a new one.

Little ones left unattended for any length of time will come up with ideas that include glitter or microwaving metal.

It is impossible for a ten year old boy to hold a paperclip in his hand without bending it into a weapon.

…and watching your oldest pull out of the driveway and down the highway for the first time forces you to let go of that child like never before.

Nobody told me how much of myself I would have to give to walk this road.  There are so many nights when I fall into my bed feeling broken and certain I didn’t do it right. It’s in those moments that I’m thankful for people brave enough to share that sometimes they feel broken, too. The beauty in that brokenness is that we begin to see we can’t do this on our own…nor do we have to.

I’ve learned there is no shame in asking for help and admitting I don’t always know what I’m doing.  To tell you the truth, some of the people I trust the most…do just that.

Stories of those who have walked before me cause me to lean in and listen even more intently hoping they’ll tell me just what to do. The question lingers…Above all else, if you could do it all over again, what would you do?

I’ve left the days of bottles and diapers behind me, but there is still much work to do.  Suddenly, I’m surrounded by young people balancing schoolwork, ball games, and friends.  Daily, they are faced with making choices to do what’s right even when it isn’t easy or popular.

There will be days when they will fail and Lord knows I hope they do… only to truly see they can’t do any of this without a Savior.

Lord, remind me to lift them up to you in constant prayer.  The older they get, the more I’m reminded they’re not truly mine and their time spent under my roof is short and so very precious.

Help all of us to see past the piles of laundry and the crazy calendar to realize that maybe we already know the answer to the question we ask.

Above all else …we’re simply to point them and each other to You.