Thirteen months after

Motherhood,hmm! A joyful stage in a woman’s life which in my opinion cannot be learned- Irrespective of what other moms have told us about motherhood.

I’m just 13 good months on this wagon and I seem to be talking like a mom of adults hehe! Well, thirteen months is still not a joke, its been full time work with several challenges. So far so good, we are learning new things and adjusting to each day. I think of women who have had four, five and six children almost at a go and I’m forced to wonder how they did it? I mean, just one child and I’m sighing and wiping thick sweat off my face. To be sincere, every mom deserves rounds and rounds and loads of applause – from that mom who despite her busy schedule at work returns home to oversee the welfare of her child(ren) to the roadside seller who despite the discomforts of sitting in the scorching sun to sell her goods still ensures she gives her children adequate attention, I salute us all!. I also applaud all stay at home moms who cannot afford support systems or are not fortunate to have a baby sitter to ease them with some work(I have been there so I know what to say about not having adequate help).
Just when I patted myself on the back that the work would lessen, I realised again I now have a toddler to chase about and keep wide eyes all day long. Again, the routine of doing the same thing over and over can be so boring a task yet it must be done. Daily we wake up to do just the same job for her comfort and well being. From changing the diaper, to ensuring she is safe, to brushing her teeth to giving her a bath, feeding and loading her with lots of attention and all.
At the moment, I’m creating and engaging my daughter in different activities suitable for her age. We sing, watch and recite rhymes, read from board books(as we go through the book, I describe people to her, show her animals and make animal sounds, show her colours),create different things with leggos (building blocks), show and tell- from colours to shapes, to body parts- and just talk about anything I know is essential for her age. As time goes on,we plan to add other activities which will help her fine motor skills and her hand coordination. The leggos are helpful for hand coordination. I believe leggos improve one’s IQ and creativity. Sometimes it appears I’m wasting my time but I’m convinced she’s learning. How do I know? She’s pronouncing some words, she knows to put a phone to her ear and say “hello, bye”, she makes the sound of a hen/cock when they quack/run past our house and los more. We talk to her to her like we would an adult and she responds. She knows when its bath time, food time and when we are going out, she grabs her sandals and signal for help.

My innermost comfort and joy comes from knowing a seed is sown for the future and I’m giving it my best to receive a full reward from the Lord.

Learning Patience through the eyes of a child

I took a short hiatus from blogging for almost a month now. A dear friend buzzed to say she’s not read anything new on my blog. I said to her its the “exigencies of the season”. Sometimes, putting a post here comes heavily on me,but I seldom find it so easy(not that I have run out of ideas on what to write,sometimes I type a post like this one and leave it in my email for the right time) for a lot of reasons. Writing in my opinion makes sense when there’s a message to share so as to enlighten, lift a burden and put smiles on people’s faces. That said, I have so much to write about especially at this time where my toddler is getting a lot more active, interactive, gregarious and all. I won’t stop writing here but will write as “I am led”.

So, over a week ago, I took a stroll with my toddler in our residential Estate. I decided to let her walk on her own which she gladly did with so much excitement. It took us a lot of time to reach our destination. She was in no hurry and of course, I didn’t expect her to walk fast but for a moment, I got tired and impatient waiting for her to walk at a slow pace. Then God began to speak to me about a very important yet lacking virtue…patience. Hmm! I used to think I am an extremely patient person but life, marriage and motherhood has in so many ways revealed how much patience I require.

Through the eyes and steps of a toddler, God let’s his own know how much he is not into a rat race, nor is he a competitive and on the run God (Please know that I’m not intending to sound religious here). Someone said, the world has no iota of patience and won’t put up for so long with you. In other words, the world is an impatient place but God is wise. The one who formed the earth out of nothing has deemed it fit to teach us patience. You see, its so easy to teach and talk about Patience but living the life is where a lot of us fall short. Waiting patiently for the gift of a child, for a business to boom, for a job, for a project to materialise or for anything in life has proved to be one of the toughest test of life. In those periods, you may struggle with people opinion, pressures, nice sounding suggestions, necessary and unnecessary counsel/concerns. The ability to wait till change comes is what God wants.

I wouldn’t want to excuse patience for redundancy or laziness but I know that in times of waiting for a promise, an answer, an opportunity or a miracle, it could for some people entail sitting at the waiting lounge, doing just what the Father instructs you to do.
Some years ago, I read a book by a certain lady called, “In Gods waiting room” which at that time I needed to keep my expectations high and I learned from the woman that God never fails. The author of that book received from the Lord just what he promised to give her and in my little knowledge of her, she’s a success story. Ours may take a while but we must wait for it. Our Father always keeps his part of the promise if we will only wait PATIENTLY!
That same day as my daughter was toddling and waiting on the spot to babble and study the road, my Father taught me that waiting is not inactivity. He uses these seasons of life to train, prepare, groom, prune, build character and make us fit for use. The season could require lots of meditation/praying, reading, learning from others, and doing the work he assigns to us – if he says, your work in the waiting period is to study how to be a farmer, a welder, a carpenter or a dress maker, follow suite on that and read as much as you need. If he says, to write, help someone or care for children, do just what he says. Follow through on His instructions. Never mind that in the eyes of some, these seasons he takes us through may appear as being laid back, lazy or idle which seems like a non-achievement but before him, doing his will and following him every step of the way brings him glory and worship. To God we are great achievers. I’d rather chase after God’s requirement than run in the way the world feels I should.

Let me digress a bit, this afternoon, my daughter woke up from sleep and all she wanted was a cuddle. I carried her around to do a few things. But at some point, I needed to put her down to step out of the house to turn off the Generating set. It was raining heavily and I couldn’t take her out in the rain. She cried so hard. I kept pacifying and assuring her from outside that I won’t be long yet she cried even harder. Just then it dawned on me that while our Father is busy working out the best for us, we are refusing to listen to his gentle assurances saying; “Don’t be afraid, keep patiently waiting for the expectation of the righteous shall not be cut off.” All we do is whine, complain and cry like he’s so unfair because he’s not doing it our way.

As I write, I speak to you and me to stay the course for there is an exceeding great reward ahead of us. On this journey, we will go through many trials to test our patience and through the test, we will learn to persevere and emerge strong. Don’t be moved by pressures because they will come from within and without, be focused on the word he gave you and run with it. Let’s keep our head on His chest and allow him guide us.