A Mother's Most Important Job

"Motherhood is all about being a calming prescence to a child.  Providing brownies, breastmilk, and clean bedroom floors are only the nice extras."

This is a quote for the post entitiled "Stripped" from Abigail's Alcove upon having to turn over most of her mothering duties to the folks in the NICU for weeks except the one of being a calm presence.  She goes on to say:

"My mothering job was limited to showing up next to Baby Tess' crib. Talking to her. Rocking her. Listening to a bunch of medical professionals talk about her prognosis. Kissing her head before she went into surgery. Waiting for her inside the tense surgery waiting area. Kissing her groggy cheeks when she came out of surgery.  Oh, and I pumped. Lots and lots of breast-milk that I carefully labeled and hopefully placed in a massive hospital freezer for my baby's 'future use'."

God gave her a specific job in "being an calming presence" and took everything else out of her hands, even the most basic responsibility of feeding her child.  How many times do I as a mother feel like I have to do it all when there is really only one thing for me to do--"being a calming prescence to a child."  I am not meant to do it all.  I am only able to do very little and I have to leave the rest to God.  If I am grouchy and unavailable to my children because of all the things I want to do  then I am completely missing the most important thing that God wants me to do.

Thanks for the reminder Abigail!