Calling in the troops...

Being a mom is tough.  Some days you do okay and you go to bed feeling successful.  Some days you don't do so hot and you go to bed grateful that you can try again tomorrow.  And then there are the truly terrible days and you go to bed praying your kids turn out okay despite having you as their mother.  No matter where you find yourself on the motherhood spectrum, it is nice to know there are wise women who you can turn to for help.  One of my favorite blog finds is just one of those women.  Her name is Jane and she is a mother of eleven children!  Her blog, Asking Jane, is dedicated to answering questions of desperate moms who need a little help and encouragement when life is down.  I love this blog, I read it all the time and it is brilliant.  Her ideas and wisdom are truly uplifting and give me strength and motivation...I mean if she can survive eleven monsters I can definitely survive two.  I read her most recent post the other day, which was her advice to a mom struggling with a difficult two-year-old.  The end of her letter was so amazing it made me a little teary-eyed.  This is what she said:
"Recognize that this is the child that is going to teach you all the attributes of godliness—patience, long-suffering, gentleness, charity. This is the child that is going to force you to seek help—to search ponder and pray. You’ve been wanting to put more of that into your life, right? Now you have a purpose! This is the child that is going to refine and change you. This is the child that is going to grow up and remember the many ways that you loved her."
Isn't that fabulous?  I just absolutely love that advice!  It is a reminder that even on our toughest days we can love our children and make a difference in their lives as well as our own.  And it is motivation to work hard and keep trying no matter how hard it gets.  Jane has much more fantastic advice and I recommend her blog to any mom, grandma, aunt, dad, or anyone else who interacts with children!  Just think of it as calling in the troops...or at least a brilliant, strategic Captain!