simplicity and love

This hangs in my dining room:

The author can be found here

Life with 5 children, all 6 years old and younger, is soon to be my new normal. Sometimes you don't know what you're capable of until you go for it. I wasn't expecting for things to happen this quickly, but they have. Reality is, I've had to have a complete mind-shift these last 5 years. Raising children can be exhausting, but it can also be energizing. I've learned to not stress the small stuff, and find the things that are truly important to me. I owe a lot of who I have become, and even who I am becoming, to my children. A sure humbling experience everyday.

There are also days where I want to step back into old habits. You know, the ones that cause you anxiety and worry. Those things that you've learned to let go, but sometimes want to creep back into your priorities. One of those things for me is feeling the need to make everyone happy. I've always been a sensitive person, caring what others think. I put the expectation on myself to try to meet other's expectations of me. It always caused me a lot of anxiety. I learned early on (especially after becoming a mother), that I'm not capable of meeting other's expectations. Somewhere, at some point, I'm going to disappoint. I needed to make peace with that and be free from those thoughts that would keep me up at night. I learned I couldn't carry that weight - especially if I wanted to give my children first fruits (and not my left-overs from the end of the day). So much of my energy is exerted to my children these days, and for good reason. They are young. We homeschool. We homestead. I disciple them and am available to them as homemaker and everything in between. When the day is done, I really have little to give to anyone else - and that is the truth. It won't be like this forever. And truth is, the more I accept this reality as a pure gift from God, the better I can live out this "hands-free" pledge. Motherhood has taught me to let go of those things that distract me. I've redefined perfection as simplicity and love. In every home that may take on a different face. 

I'm not only living hands free, but I'm choosing to live free. Its something my children teach me everyday. Not a care in the world for them, and yet they live in such joy, seizing the gift of today. What a beautiful thing!