Renewed perspective

It has been one of those mornings.

Miss Elliott woke up in a mood.  A seriously bad mood.  Everything was a fight from eating breakfast to changing clothes/diaper.  I could see defiance and obstinance etched on her face as she just waited for me to ask her to do something so she could yell "no (which sometimes I think is her favorite word, unfortunately)."  It was one of those mornings where multiple fits had been thrown...and it wasn't even 8am.  And I already had the fleeting thought, "When is too early to lay her down for her afternoon nap?"  You may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not.  It's the kind of start to a day that I question, "How am I going to make it to bedtime?"  Kev felt bad to leave, but unfortunately, duty calls.  

So I decided to take a walk.  We needed to get out of the house and I needed to spend some time with Jesus begging Him for patience, grace, and strength to get through the day.  As I was walking and praying, I had a thought that is not really profound, and I'm sure millions of moms have thought it before, but it was really encouraging to me today.  

My children are my mission field.  However, I would never dream of going oversees on a mission trip and not laboring in prayer for the people I was meeting with, and yet I frequently go days without praying for my children's salvation and their hearts.  When I am trying to reach out to my neighbors, I would never imagine just spending time with them halfheartedly, trying to "make it through," and yet so often the time I spend with my children I feel distracted by the millions of tasks I "need" to accomplish or I'm just wishing the time away until Kev gets home at 5.  I may know that that they are my primary ministry during this season of life, but there are days I am not treating them like that.

Such a simple concept, but I was SO thankful for the renewed prospective God gave me today.