Strawberries on the Wall

I could see the strawberries on the wall, or the evidence of them. There they were, five splotch marks of scarlet marking my newly painted walls. My four year old, once again left his calling card.

As mothers we all face this don't we? I'm not the only one, right? But this is when we are tested, what are we made of? Whatever is on the inside of us, is going to come boiling to the surface.

I am continually training my children to control their emotions and to master them. Now, with three sets of eyes fixed on me it was my turn to "practice what I preach".

But I didn't want to, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, "WHY! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!"

I may of said that. But before I did, I paused. In my own strength and ability I am totally in submission to my flesh and my emotions. But at that moment I prayed silently. Even though on the inside the atomic fury stirred. I knew I needed to calm down before I spoke, or they would have learned a new lesson on how to handle emotions.

So after a minute or two I calmed, then I spoke, then the consequence.

Being a mom is a tough thankless job, but it's worth it! My youngest is now four, where did the time go? I want to focus on knowing them and loving them before they walk out my door to their own lives.

So when out of the blue one of my children say, "I love you mom" or "I like spending time with you mom," my mind takes a picture of that moment. Those are the moments I focus on, those are the moments I carry with me. The strawberries on the wall will have to deal with that.