Her Worth is Far Above Rubies
Someone asked me today about our homeschooling years…
Which got the wheels turning in my head about how many, many hours momma’s spend teaching, just DOING for their children. So, just out of curiosity, I did some figuring…
You know…kinda trying to figure out what I might have been worth if my “mothering” job was a pay by the hour kind of deal.
JUST up to the time my oldest child was 14 years old, (before I sent them to public school) I had spent approximately 123,000 hours with them, 24/7 being their babysitter, their school teacher, their barber, their taxi cab, their Bible teacher and character trainer, their protector and comforter, their personal chef, their nurse and counselor, their personal shopper and dresser, their house keeper, their launderer, and their playmate…. and approximately 500 other things that you just do and forget you ever did, as does everyone else in the world!
And I prayed.
We painted, we built things, we did crafts, we sang songs. We danced. I rode them around on my back and bucked like a horse. I put them in laundry baskets and pulled them all through the house and we put blankets on the stairs and slid down them like a slide. I broke up fights and made them stand and hug each other and I disciplined with words, with a fly swatter, with my hand, and with other things that might get me thrown in jail if I said it out loud.
And I prayed.
During this time, I wiped 455,280,000 butts. I cleaned up vomit and diarrhea out of floors, out of sofas, out of carpet, and off of walls.
And I prayed for them!
I loaded them up in the car and took them to church 7900 times (this is just in the first 14 years) not counting the special programs we went to. I taught their Sunday School classes and their choirs while at church.
And I prayed for them.
I read them books and I listened to their stories with all my attention focused solely on them. I was their Santa Clause. I bought and wrapped, and put together every gift they ever got, and I hid notes for a treasure hunt for each child’s gifts every. Single. Year! I planned a birthday party for each child every year. I baked their cakes and made all the other goodies. Caterers weren’t a thing back in those days. We had their friends over for spend the night parties and I let them blow the bathroom up with bubbles! I kept careful journals so I could share the memories of these precious days with them when they grew up.
Ohhh….and I prayed!!
We took walks in the woods and learned about the bugs and circle of life.
We had pets and I taught them to be responsible for caring for them.
We cleaned horse stalls and mowed the yard and I taught them the value of working hard for what you want.
I hauled a huge, heavy video camera around everywhere we went so that they’d have family movies to laugh about for the rest of their lives.
Occasionally, rarely, I got a babysitter and went out for a few hours. I planned family vacations. They weren’t REAL vacations like for the big people. They were much more work than staying home but I rejoiced with a heart so full it could burst to see my children having fun. I came home tired and happy and went back to the same routines that they were accustomed to. I loaded them up and took them to amusement parks and local parks.
And I prayed.
I took them to the grocery store with me. One day, I remember it well, my Mother came over and stayed with my kids for 30 minutes so I could go and buy groceries alone.
When they became school age, I carefully prepared lessons, school outings, creative ways to teach them math and grammar, and history, and science; handwriting, and phonics, reading and of course, PE!
We went to the opera and learned to appreciate all kinds of art.
There were days when I’m sure I made some mistakes in my parenting. There were days when I lost my cool. I didn’t do a whole lot of things right I suppose.
But… I prayed for them.
AND…
I
Loved
My
Children!
Not one thing I ever did seemed like a sacrifice to me. It was my greatest JOY!
And that’s the % truth!
Momma’s….
Of all the people on the planet, why is it that we are the ones who most tend to doubt our worth? That makes less sense than most anything I’ve ever heard!
Maybe you need to read just a FEW of the things I just wrote…
Because you do these types of things too!
And on those days when you feel like the most worthless person on the planet…
Maybe you need to say, “Wait one darn minute! The job I do may not be worth much in monetary gain, but I’m DANG sure worth something better than money….”