PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH

Reading from Sunday Mass
"Be Doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves." James 1:22

As mothers, we are constantly telling our children to be nice, stop pushing, show love to their sibling, stop whining, finish your plate of healthy food, obey your mother and father, no more TV for the day, and the list goes on. Everyday we are trying to do our best in raising our children and helping them to be GOOD. At the same time, we are tired from being up at night, mentally strained from the constant care, worried about our husbands career, frantically trying to keep the house straight, running on coffee and crackers...... I find myself telling them to use their quiet voice and then screaming out of frustration later that day or stop whining and then I find myself whining about how tired I am or how tough motherhood is. How can we teach our children all of the goodness of the world if we don't live it? We are all human and we sure don't need to be too hard on ourselves but at the same time we have to remember the helper and leader we have in Jesus. Jesus tells us in scripture to work for food that doesn't spoil, to trust in him, to not worry, to rest in him and give him our burdens, to be joyful and love one another as He loves us. In order to practice what we preach, we have to give our day to the Lord and find him in prayer, in adoration of the blessed sacrament, in the rosary, in scripture, in nature, in our children's eyes. Then we can practice what we preach because Jesus will be guiding us and helping us to live as he has called us to live. By spending time with Jesus, He will refill our empty vessels so we can in turn pour life giving water back into our families.

So rest in the arms of Jesus today. Don't try to go about mothering alone. Taking care of your children will be so much more fruitful if you take care of yourself spiritually, mentally and physically first. The world tells us we can "be all and do ", but those are the empty promises of the world that leaves us broken and spirtually dry. Live for the Spirit and not the ways of the world! God Bless your Monday!