Control Relinquished

*Re-sharing this post I wrote 3 years ago... This exact picture hung in the hallway of my parents' home when I was a child. I often found myself staring at it, thinking. One time, I remember my mom asking which of the sheep we see ourselves as. One of my sisters quickly responded that she was the lamb being held by Jesus.That was okay. I already knew which one I wanted to be. The black one. The different one. The one  following  Him. Yeah, profound thoughts for a young elementary student. But I was already realizing the cost of following the path less traveled. I already felt the call to  be  different.  Monday begins a new era in my role of motherhood. It is the first time my daughter will spend more of her waking hours with someone else, somewhere else. Hello, 1st grade. It has been a reflective week for me, wondering if I have done and taught her enough to be prepared for life in a public school. Do I have enough faith to obey what God...

It was any mother's worst lunchtime nightmare: 2 pieces of leftover pizza and 3 children! Each child stated multiple reasons why they were entitled to one of the pieces. So, I did what any fair and weary mother would do: "I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 15...." This time it was my youngest to lose and we heard all about how unfair it all was between the tears of disappointment! After our lunch was peacefully eaten, I was de-boning a rotisserie chicken. Knowing how much they like the salty, crispy skin, I offered them some pieces. You would have thought I was a mother bird bringing a worm into a nest of babies! Their beak-like fingers were all vying for the best, juiciest, and biggest pieces. Before long, it was the same greediness leaking out their mouths as earlier, insisting they get the next piece! I gently reminded them that life cannot be about pleasing themselves. Selfishness and greediness is wrong and we have to learn to surrender our...