Sing your song

“I will sing with the voice that He’s placed in my soul

So the world will hear what He was done

We must sing if our hearts have been changed by our God

Let the whole world know that he has come

Come and sing with the angels to the king

Come and bring Him your song”

-Jeremy Quillo

This song has been bouncing around in my head for a while. The idea of bringing Him my song has made me question: What is my song? I spend time thinking about what I am not, how I do not measure up or what I should be. God has given us each a purpose, we each reflect His beauty and glory to the world and we should build on the areas where we do this well. We should use them with a kingdom focus for a purpose: to “let the whole world know He has come”. We have different roles but I think the song we should sing, the gifts we should use are strengths that carry over throughout all those roles.

My biggest role right now is being a mother and it is very hard for me. I am much more aware of my own sin than I once was  and believe God is using my kids as refining tools in my life. But, I have to walk in the truth and rest in the beauty that I am someone He is refining. I am someone who He has given joy to show, love to give and a song to sing!

So, I will sing loudly to my kids proclaiming the truth:
I will snuggle and read books for hours, I will paint your fingers and toes all different colors in your version of a “rainbow”. I will let you dig up my yard and cover yourselves in mud and write on me in sidewalk chalk. I will  forgetfully lick Orajel off my fingers and suffer the numb mouth with you. I will rock you and sing to you and sleep sitting up. I will not sleep in your bed all night long but you can cuddle in mine all morning. I do not buy everything organic but I care deeply about how much sugar you eat, or what color vegetables you are eating, or how many crackers you consume in a day. I may not bake bread from scratch, or have chickens running around our backyard but we can plant an herb garden and watch it grow! I am not a runner, I will not run a half marathon, I will not run 3 miles a day, I will not replace my running shoes every six months but I will race you down the side walk, I will chase you around the back yard until we can’t stop laughing and we can’t breath.

And I will sing loudly to all you moms out there who need to hear it too:
I am the mom who rolls around on the floor while my kids tackle me, I am the mom who says "I love you" a million times a day, I am the mom who takes the slobbery, snotty kisses because after all they are still kisses. I am not the mom who wears heels to the grocery but I am the mom who takes 2 walks a day and plays chase in the back yard. I am not the mom who showers every day but I am the mom who runs through the hose. There are so many things I am not. There are so many things you aren’t. There are reasons why I need you in my life, to encourage me, motivate me and remind me pajama days are great.

We will never nurse as long as other moms we know, read as many books, sing as many songs. We will never cook the same definition of healthy meals. We will always define sleeping through the night differently or have different amounts of date nights. Our friends will come and go with seasons of fussy kids, sick kids or busy calendars. But you are the mother God gave your children. You are the wife God gave your husband. You aren’t meant to be like your neighbor, your best friend, your sister or your mother. You bring life and joy and rest and strength to your household.