Dancing in the rain

It's funny because I am about to post some pictures of the kids dancing in the rain. Not literally dancing in the rain, but dancing on the table inside the house, right next to the windows, where they were watching it raining outside. The funny part is that as I just wrote the title, "dancing in the rain", it made me think about motherhood, or parenthood in general. I think that being a mom is a lot like dancing in the rain. When you are a mom there are always a variety of difficulties to face each and every day. You can assume on any given day that things will not go according to whatever plan you may have in mind. There is a constant barrage of spilled drinks, accidents on the bed, broken toys, fights to break up, "no you cannot eat cookies right now", instructions to give, crumbs everywhere- crumbs on the floor, crumbs on the couch, crumbs all over the car, crumbs in your bed, crumbs in the bathroom, crumbs in my drawers- and the list could go on and on. And so it goes that most days are rainy days of sorts. But it is in the midst of those rainy days that you can either put your head down and dream for a sunshiny day, or you can just dance in the rain. And as I have spent time doing both, I think it is the dancing in the rain that parenthood is all about. It is when things are all askew (both on the outside and on the inside) but we make the decision to dance that parenthood starts to make sense. It is in those moments, when we stop trying to get our house and our life under control, that our children become most precious to us. It is in the dancing that we are set free from all the worry about the rain. It is in the dancing that our children actually encounter us and connect with us and community and fellowship happen within our homes. So here's to spending our days dancing in the rain!

Side note: Tonight I was praying with Isaac before bed. He reminded me to pray for Japan. So I did. He added, "God, I pray for all the kids who lost their toys that you will give them all the same toys that we have. god, I pray for all the kids who lost their parents, maybe because when the water came they got eaten by a shark, I pray that they will not be scared or alone. I pray for all the kids and all the parents and all the grandmas." As he prayed for those things, I was moved more genuinely for Japan and for the people who are suffering there than I have been thus far.