grocery store people

You know those people who feel the liberty to talk to you for no reason at all at the grocery store, or Target, or any other place?  Honestly, I am one of those people, I love to talk and I love to be friendly! The thing about GSP is they make these profound comments then walk away and leave you with the consequence of what they have said.  One comment GSP make that drives me nuts is "How do you do it?!?!" or "I don't know how you do it!".  They can be referring to a number of things, having lots of kids, juggling a job and being a mom, homeschooling ... you fill in the blank.  This comment never sits right with me, and after 11+ years of being a mom, I just realized today why!  It is because somehow this comment implies something, it could imply that they don't feel like they could do it, that I some have more capability than others, that some things are impossible or maybe it is sarcastic and it means that I really can not do it and should stop pretending to try.

Well, today I saw a precious sister who has recently adopted her 5th child.  Her life circumstances may seem impossible to the outside, and with out even thinking I asked "how are you doing it?".  I instantly cringed at my voice and it hit me, I knew why that bothers me! It is because it leaves God out of the equation!  We ALL have impossible circumstances in our life, and we each have an opportunity to trust the Lord and use the equipment he has promised to provide for us to get through each difficult thing. By asking this question, I am saying that I could not trust the Lord with something that big.  And, why do I need to?  It is not my battle, it is someone elses!  There are things in my life that I look at and think, how am I going to do that, then I remember that with my God ALL THINGS are POSSIBLE, and I move forward in faith, and he provides!

Since my early years of motherhood, when these GSP got to me, I have made it my goal to only encourage and lift up mothers in the grocery store.  I want to remind them not that the years go by so fast, but what a blessing each day is.  I don't want to tell them how hard it is going to be, but what a blessing even the trials of parenting toddles can be.  This is what my God tells me, and it is the message I want to send out to the weary mommies of the Target aisles!