All in.

Yesterday was one of those days that started out great, then slowly went down hill. Nothing terrible happened. It was just a bundle of little things that kept building. There was one point when I had two crying toddlers screaming at the top of their lungs. In the moment of chaos, I had to laugh. I wanted to record them and send it to my husband at work just so that we could share that crazy moment together. It was either laugh or cry. Eventually they stopped, things mellowed out and daddy came through the door and I was actually able to make dinner.

When I finally laid my head down last night, I'm pretty sure it was pounding. I had a headache and I was so ready for bed.

I slept. I was so thankful for bedtime last night.

I woke up this morning with a refreshed spirit and a grateful heart, ready to try again. 

I can't help but think about and appreciate how much God teaches me on a daily basis through my family. I have been learning the older I get that family is such an amazing and crucial element in life. Having a family is hard. Everyone has different personalities and moods. Everyone has different emotions, different ways of expressing themselves and handling hard situations. 

Although yesterday was a bit rough, I said my prayers and thanked God for my family. God humbles me everyday through my children and my husband. I can be so into myself and how I feel and what I want and what I need, but God is so gracious in Giving me three humans to live under one roof with me, to mold me, bend me, break me, teach me and grow me. 

 God uses different people to encourage us in our daily lives and today I am grateful for that. I am grateful for the moments when I'm on the floor scrubbing old juice for no other reason than the fact that God has given me a home to raise my family and enjoy those beautiful moments of unconditional love and hugs and kisses. I'm grateful for cries and screams and sleepless nights and misunderstandings and hurt feelings because when those moments pass, I get to see first hand what redemption looks like. I get to experience humility. I get to die to myself. I get to apologize and I get to forgive. I get to hug my husband and kids and feel what real love is all about. Being loved in all of my sin and selfishness. That's how God loves me. That's how he loves all of us.

Today, I am extra thankful that God has trusted me to be a wife and a mother. It's not easy and it's certainly not a feat to be finished quickly. It's gonna take a lot of years. It's gonna take a lot of cries but also a lot of laughs. There's gonna be lots of laundry, messy pb & j's, lots of spilled juice and lots of hurried mornings out the door. But The Lord promises good to me and there's also gonna be lots of love! Lots of tender moments. Lots of embraces, lots of cookie making, lots of ah-hah moments, lots of problems resolved and lots of memories that we will hold in our hearts forever.

Today, even if what I give seems so little, I thank Jesus for this opportunity. I thank Him that I am part of something so much bigger and valuable than just a quick accomplishment that will fade fast. I am thankful that my investment today is in my family. I am thankful I get to serve my husband and kids. I love them so deeply and I am humbled. 

I pray that today we will all be encouraged and blessed as we go about our day to day roles of being a family. Family is so good and so rich and so valuable. Give me your strength each new day and in each moment. Thank you Lord, this will take a lifetime, but I am all in.

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" - 1 Corinthians 13:7

Thank you Jesus for Marcos, Boston and Abigail.