Little Robes

I was reading in 1 Samuel yesterday and a particular verse caught my attention. It is probably one of the sweetest verses I've ever read about a mother and her son. Hannah had given Samuel over to the Lord at a young age. She prayed desperately for this child, and when God gave him to her she surrendered him, allowing him to stay with Eli, the priest, so that he could enter the priesthood. She would go up to see him every year at the time of the sacrifice. From a young age, Samuel learned what it meant to minister before God. The Bible says:

"But Samuel was ministering before the LORD -a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice." (1 Samuel 2:18-19)

I can just imagine young Samuel wearing the ephod- a special garment that was reserved for priests alone. I wondered if he wore a full sized one- did it nearly touch the floor? or did he have a special one that was just his size? I'm sure a Bible scholar somewhere could answer that for me. But what struck me about these verses was this: "Each year his mother made him a little robe..." How sweet! I just can't get over that!

Hannah not only surrendered her son to God, allowing him to fulfill his calling in life, but she supported him in it. Her support was tangible. She used her talents and abilities to help her son along as he learned all of the ins and outs of his ministry. I am sure that Samuel could have found a robe in his size where he was- surely there were robe makers. But his mother still labored away to make him a little robe each year.

This scripture triggered something in my heart. I'm still processing through it- I am an outward processor, so much of what I write here will be just that... my mind and heart trying to process what I'm feeling. Back to the point. Something was triggered. I don't know what God has in store for my children yet. I haven't even met Matthew face to face, much less any other kiddos we might have. I do know, however, that Jeremiah 29:11 holds true for each of them: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; to give you a future and a hope.'" God has a plan for each of them. It is my job as a mother to "make little robes" per se. Let me explain.

As a mother, I should be covering my children, just as a robe covered Samuel. I must cover them in prayer, cover them in love and cover them with sound doctrine and good teaching. Also, I believe I must look for ways to tangibly support my children in their callings. Not everyone knows their calling in life as early as Samuel. Hey, some of us moms are still trying to figure it out! But as mothers we often see God-given potential in our kids. We might see that they connect well with the elderly, that they have a heart for the weakest kid on the playground, or that they simply love to share life with everyone they meet. My question is, "How can I tangibly help my child learn how to minister to God's people?" Can I buy Capri Sun's and help her pass them out on a hot day at the playground? Can I take her to a nursing home to pass out candy? Could I encourage her to befriend the kid who sits invisibly while others play tag?

This doesn't come easily. If we are to support our children as they fulfill God's calling in their lives, it will mean sacrifice on our parts. We must allow ourselves to be stretched; to get out of our comfort zones. I remember a pastor's story once about his children. They were in the car and saw a homeless man sitting by the street. The kids said something to the effect of "Daddy, let's go pray for that man and tell him about Jesus." The pastor was in a hurry and didn't want to stop, but knew that if he kept driving it would teach his children the wrong lesson. So, they turned around, told the man about Jesus and prayed with him. The pastor learned that day that if he wanted to teach his kids to follow Jesus whole-heartedly, then he would have to get out of his comfort zone (and his convenience-zone) to show them how to do it.

We must, like Hannah, let go. As she states in 1 Samuel 1:27-28a, "'I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.'"

What a tough but rewarding task! To make a little robe; to support our children tangibly with whatever talents and resources God has given us! I am not saying it's easy, or that it should be. I'm also not claiming to be an expert. Don't get me wrong. These are thoughts I'm processing, not lessons I have mastered. My prayer is that God will help us moms to support our children in the things God has called them to do, whether it be something simple, like helping them pray for a friend or something more heart-wrenching like eventually watching them move overseas as a foreign missionary. Dr. James Dobson says that parenthood is not for the faint-of-heart. He's so right. It is a long, painful, joyous journey out of selfishness.

Fishy Fun

I woke up this morning with no plan. No schedule. No idea how I would keep a toddler happy and busy for hours on end. As I walked to the refridgerator to get the milk for our cereal, I spotted a community calendar and was reminded of our public library's preschool story time. So, after breakfast we got dressed and headed out.

Courtney sat down with the other children in the preschool room and listened intently as the librarian read story after story about fish. They sang songs and danced fishy dances, then headed out to a cluster of tables to work on a fishy craft. Courtney had a blast sticking sequins to a paper fish, and after a quick trip to the sink to wash the glitter glue from her hands, we headed home. I felt a little sad at the idea of ending such a fun time. What would we do for the rest of our afternoon?

I had a plan. We headed home and had a fishy lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches (cut out like fish, thanks to a large cookie cutter), goldfish, and a movie- Finding Nemo. Courtney had so much fun cutting out the bread shapes and watching the movie. The fishy theme carried on and worked great! It kept her busy... at least until she decided she was finished playing fish and was ready to play Cinderella!

I am a firm believer in the statement, "Fun is what you make of it." I strive to find ways to make everyday life a little more fun for Courtney and me. I want her to learn that fun is all in our attitudes. It's the little things we do that make life more interesting. For instance, when we have pancakes, I mix up the batter and then pour tiny toddler-size portions into measuring cups. With just a few drops of food coloring, we make "rainbow pancakes".  Courtney LOVES them! It's the same with the fishy themed lunch & movie. It took very little effort to put together something special for my kiddo.

My blog title, "Mama is a verb" is very important to me. It reminds me every time I log on that motherhood is more than just feeding and clothing a child. It's an action word. It's about doing, not just being. Now,  I understand that many of you have more than one child. You may be thinking, "Oh, great- you say that now: DO a little more, but what about all that I already do? You only have one child. It's easy when you just have one!" I'm sure you're right. I won't know for a few more months what it's like to make rainbow pancakes for two kids, one of which may not like pancakes at all.

The fact still remains, no matter how many children you have, fun is what you make of it. One child or five. It's the little things we do each day that make a difference in their attitudes, their lives and their perception of the world around them. If you are scraping for ideas to keep your toddler busy, I recommend "The Toddler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner. It's full of games, crafts, songs and recipes that are perfect for little ones. Adapt the ideas to your child(ren). Make life more fun for your family. It doesn't have to be expensive or take months of planning. Try starting small. Take a nature walk. Sing a silly song. Get out the cookie cutters and go to town on your favorite recipe.

We reap what we sow in our childrens' lives. Every day I have to stop and ask myself what I'm sowing. What am I teaching her? It's so tempting to sit my child down in front of Dora for the afternoon, but it seems that on days like today- when I put in a little extra effort- she tends to play more, imagine more and smile more. Her creativity blossoms and she has a better day. Hopefully, by the little things I do I'm teaching her that she has the ability to keep boredom at bay and that ultimately "Fun is what you make of it."

Pink Vengeance

**This post was taken from our family blog and dated Feb 11, 2008. I thought it would be great as my first post on Mama is a Verb because I feel it captures the frustrations of a new mom so well. Enjoy a story from my past!**

New babies are often mistaken in regards to their gender. Short hair and rounded features make it hard to distinguish little girls from boys. We new moms try our best to let the world know that our little girls are girls and our little boys are boys... sometimes to no avail.

I constantly hear comments like, "Oh what a cute little boy!" and "Aw, he's so cute. How old is your little man?" I have resolved to ignore such comments, as I understand how hard it can be to tell the difference between babies' genders... but at times I am still dumb-struck at how inobservant some people can be.

For instance, today Courtney and I were at Wal-Mart. She was dressed in pink, with a pink blanket, a pink pacifer, and a purple doll. A well-meaning older lady approached us, smiled, and said, "Oh, well, now that must be a little boy. He's so cute!"

"Yes, mam," I replied through clenched teeth, "thank you."

I didn't want to correct her- she was a sweet older lady, and I know she didn't mean anything by it. Besides, a man made the same mistake at the gym this morning. I hear that sort of thing all the time. I know it's partly my fault for dressing Courtney in little brown pants or green shirts... still feminine when you look up close, but easily mistaken for "boy clothes" from a distance. But why should she be forced to wear pink every day just so the world can be assured of her femininity? Besides, as illustrated by our experience in Wal-Mart this morning, pink doesn't always work.

I guess I let it get to me today. Most days I can let these comments go, but today I had had enough. I found myself shopping online for the pinkest of all pink frilly shirts I could find on Oldnavy.com. My vendeta grew personal when we got home. I dressed Courtney in the pinkest, frilliest, most GIRLY dress I could find, put a pink bow in her hair, and took several pictures to post on our blog.

"This will teach em!" I thought. "Now the WHOLE WORLD will know she's a girl! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!"

Time out: What was I thinking?

So I took the pictures. I got several cute shots, but for all the wrong reasons. I think Courtney must have picked up on my attitude, because the more pictures we took the more she protested, until finally she pulled down my PINK backdrop, tore off her PINK shoes, and fussed until her face turned PINK. Of course, the mom in me took over and I picked her up. I helped her shed the frills and I put her back in her little onesie (which, go figure, was also pink...).

Keith walked in the door and I all of a sudden realized how ridiculous I was acting. By the time I realized my motivation behind the little shopping spree & high-glam photo shoot, her new, PINK, trendy clothes were already on the way; and I had given Courtney everything she needed to fuel a few nightmares about being chased by ribbon, lace and pink frills.

Why did I think I had to PROVE to the world that my daughter was, in fact, a little girl? Who cares? So I heard a few uninformed comments this week... no big deal. I couldn't believe I let myself get so worked up about something so insignificant... again. Courtney was oblivious to each and every comment, but was still subjected to mommy's little passive-aggressive tantrum. I learned something important from this experience: What Courtney doesn't know won't hurt her... but what Mommy doesn't know is that sometimes she can act like an overly-emotional doofus.