I bought myself THREE "Best Mom Ever" cards for Mother's Day.
Hi friends.
It's been a bit of a few weeks here.
Family Conferences and Ladies Meetings and we should be the godliest folks around after all this good teaching.
We just might be but we are too tired to know it.
My birthday came with so much love and surprise that this 44 year old heart could hardly stand it.
Growing up I never thought about how difficult my birthday being right around-the-corner from Mother's Day would be for some husband to come.
Remember when you were 18-ish and wondered if you would even be able to carry children?
I remember Joel and I talking about how. many children we wanted to have and even snagging a first name that we kept under our hat way before we were close to getting married, just because it was fun and it was ours.
Barely even ready to get married I hadn't even thought about WHEN we would want to begin having all those children we talked about over nachos and cheese way back when we just needed to get our papers turned-in to the front desk by midnight.
And then this amazingly strange thing happened.
That ring came on, we moved into our home and immediately something was missing.
I had heard of "baby fever," but thought it was preposterous.
I could understand "Dorito fever," but baby fever seemed so odd since I didn't grow up with babies or have the urge to smell them, hold them and for suresies change them.
But when I wasn't looking I came down with it.
Baby fever.
And strangely enough it did involve Doritos.
Never EVER in a bazillion years would you have convinced me that I would've desired children as intensely as I did.
I know that many many dear ladies desire children for a whole lot longer than I did, and I pray that you see the desire of your hearts just as I did.
Albeit a tad sooner than we had planned.
Well that is IF we had a plan.
I laughed picking up my teens from helping a new friend mulch what seemed like acres of landscaping.
She found our family on the "Neighbor" app that helps people around town find help for various projects.
My two teens needed something to do and this became a great opportunity.
Great paying too.
This neighbor was tickled for me that I had begun having children when I was SO YOUNG. She was delighted that I had six children and wished she could have had more than the two she had late in life.
When she found out they came via C-section she just about elevated me to sainthood.
Part of me laughed at her sweetness and part of me wondered if she wanted all of the laundry and shoes that accompany six children.
Part of me wanted her to know that we don't think we will be able to rescue my girl's adult "Eye Tooth," meaning she will need a partial before her 16th birthday.
And the other part ( I have a lot of parts apparently) was glad I had bought myself three Mother's Day cards.
Three CHOCOLATE Mother's Day cards, that is.
The simple truth is this. If you are going to drive a car, wear a seatbelt. If you are going to parent, eat the chocolate.
In some online order heaps of weeks ago, they sent a free gift with each purchase.
It was a card and chocolate bar all in one. Part card and part the best dark chocolate and sea salt caramel I have EVER put my own eye teeth on.
I gobbled it up, realized that it was only available online and shipping was too much for me to swallow.
Then, out-of-the-blue, these cards showed-up at our swanky grocery store!
There they were in a neat little stand for Mother's Day.
Happy Mother's Day to myself, I thought!
My friend laughed to see my hands full so she bought one also and also came to the conclusion that this is the best sea salt chocolate SHE had ever had.
It's like I am bringing world peace one piece of chocolate at a time.
And yes, I did go back and buy more and yes I did give some away.
Some as in ONE.
And this moment I am wondering if everyone has this relationship with food that I have and if they order flatbread pizza at Panera and leave a note that asks for as much basil as is humanly possible and signs it "Kindly, " like some Jane Austen novel reader.
Can there ever be too much basil.....? And kindness?
I can see a new shirt on the horizon...
Then, there was that time this week when I was short at the alterations place because I was tired and all.the.things.
Yes, my order should have been done six days ago.
Yes, that was frustrating.
Yes, I would come back later in the day.
Off I went to prepare for an upcoming ladies meeting at a little place nearby and the Lord reminded me not to make the little things big things.
Some call them, "First World Problems," I call these upsets in the spirit, "Baby Christian Problems."
I call them this to myself, one, because I want to keep the three friends I have, and two, because I need to hear it.
So the eye doctor's office was rude (again). So the alterations place was way late.
So what.
So I HAVE to go and wait and STUDY GOD'S WORD while I wait.
What a bummer of epic proportions.
The Holy Spirit said, "Your testimony matters more. Check out those chocolate croissants."
No, not for myself, but for the seamstress who was most likely adding some "distressing" to my skirt at that moment for all of my own stress.
I swallowed the last piece of my own home-baked humble pie while I handed her the box.
"I'm so very sorry I was short with you earlier. I'm having a bit of a "day" and I took it out on you."
She about fell.over.
She then fell all over herself telling me that she was not offended in the least bit.
I stopped her.
"It's not you. It's ME. I'm sorry."
I left my pride and a box of chocolate pastries at the door and sure hope that I can win her to that one who truly gave her those in the first place.
That was one of two chocolate deliveries this week and my goodness will I ever learn all the things?
The second was after, on a whim, I thought some "Summer highlights" would be fun and lovely.
When scripture tells us to "Pray without ceasing," it means even over hair appointments friends.
I left the shop looking more blonde than forty.
It was not what I had asked for but it was what I went home with.
Immediately I rescheduled a 24 hour touch-up.
With fear of offending this stylist I grabbed, you guessed it, an orange dark chocolate bar and headed off to find out what new glop we could slap on my head.
Would you believe that orange chocolate just HAPPENED to be this gal's favorite?
I would.
A text from my husband mid-appointment reminded me to "Look and see what God is doing in all of this."
My stylist snacked on chocolate while some chocolatey-looking substance covered my blonde patches AND all of my gray.
I then realized that the Lord may have sent me back to her just to tell her about his love for her.
A mishap and chocolate opened the door for me to share my testimony of trust in the Lord and leave her with His words in her hands.
Right there next to the chocolate.
I left looking a whole new shade I hadn't originally planned, but was the Lord in that?
You betcha.
If covering this gray with some brownish-red uncovers a love that this young gal needs to know,
I'm down with that.
That AND 29,000 washes to get my gray back.
Two recipients of sweetness for me to follow-up with and a wonderful reminder that God is in the small just as much as he is in the gigantic.
He truly is.
He can be trusted.
Psalm 34:8- "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
I don't know about YOU, but if we are to invite people to "taste" and see that the Lord IS good, I think chocolate is a wonderful door to do so.
