where much is given......

Lately I have thought a lot about how much work being a mom is. 

There is always a hundred and one things that need to be done "RIGHT NOW!" from laundry to dishes, from cooking to bathes, from stories to be read and homework to be done, from bloody knees to snotty noses and everything in between. Then you throw in scripture study, family prayer and looking, finding and taking opporitunities to teach your kids gospel principles.  Then comes everything you should and need to do to fulfill your responsiblities to your wonderful husband and then if there is time or energy left, taking time for yourself (which often times is peeing all by yourself in the middle of the night.

Visiting teaching this month, I was talking with a good friend who has 4 kids and a baby due any day, we were talking about ALL the things that we as mothers do and that often times it seems we are the only person in our home that notices the pee on the bathroom floor or the garbage piled so high there is no way to take the garbage out with out a huge disaster, the artwork on a freshly painted wall with the sparpie you forgot to put away, or the food slopped on the wall or the baskets of laundry that need to be folded and put away (so that as soon as a kid goes to change they will end up in a pile on the floor left for none other than mom to pick them up, decide if they are clean, dirty or something in between.  My friend comes from a large family and did a lot to help raise her younger siblings.  She said
"I never imaged that being a mom would be this much harder than raising my siblings was.  BUT IT IS!

Why does so much of life as a wife and mother end up in a senario  where mom is about to rip out her hair or run away and everyone else looks at you completely baffeled at your near breakdown.

We have been told that "nothing compensates for failure in the home."  and I might add to that, that nothing is harder than making sure that you don't fail as a wife and mother. Why?  WHY??  I ask myself that often.  Why is family so hard.  I know that Satan has a lot to do with it. The whole plan of salvation requires there to be families, families who love the Savior, who understand the gospel, who help and encourage one another through this life.  So, satan is partially to blame, BUT as I was pondering the other night I decided that maybe part of it has to do with the scripture in Luke 12 that says "where much is given, much is required." I think that the chance to raise one or more of our Heavenly Father's children is a great responsibility that comes with many blessings and challenges.  If it was easy, would if be as worth it in the end, would we learn what we need to learn in this life? We are given much when we finally meet and hold those little gift from heaven, we are given much as we learn from them. We ar given much as we feel the spirit of love that radiates from young children. we are given much as we experience the humility and trust of a child.  we experince much that aids to our growth and development as children of God as we raise children.  Of course it has to be hard, of course it requires much. It has to. Because, Families are forever, we have to earn that blessing.

But at the same time, does much of the stress and frustration of "parenting" come because we expect to much of our selfs? Do we spend to much time focusing on things like cleaning the toliet and folding laundry and not enough time playing with our children, loving them, teaching them of our Savior.  Some how there has to be a balance. I am far from finding out how that might be possible, but we learn in Moses that "men are that they  might have joy, so, I would venture to say that my new mission as a wife and mother is to find ways to enjoy this journey I am on as a mother.  To find balance between housework and the fun, more rewarding part of mothering.  Wish me luck.