HOUSE OF ROBERTS BLOG

I’ll never forget this one time when I was a new mom and I had only Ford. Ford went through this season of being a very “passionate” playmate ha! Everywhere I went with him I was always apologizing to other moms because Ford in some shape or form was always getting too passionate with the other kids. This one day I went to a moms group and Ford was making so many kids cry that I pretty much followed him around the whole time saying “gentle, gentle..” internally wanting to die and cry from embarrassment. I ended up leaving and crying in the car, praying under my breath Lord is there something wrong with him? A question I really didn’t want to know the answer to. So quickly the Lord responded to my heart and simply said “No” He followed that answer up with a statement that, to this day, still grips me and has come up in my heart frequently in motherhood. He said, “Gabby, I made him for your enjoyment, he is a gift from Me to you. So just enjoy him.” HOLY SMOKES teeeears flowed, fear left, and my desire to ENJOY who the Lord made my son to be was all-consuming. When I tell you that this phrase from the Lord has been a cornerstone in motherhood for me I am not kidding. Throughout the years there have been so many moments in motherhood when things were hard with the kids when I was in place I didn’t know what to do, when I was too tired to see clearly, and when life was getting too serious that the Lord would remind me, “Just enjoy them, they're a gift from Me to you.”

Psalms 127:3 says, “Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from him.” A gift is always given to bring joy, to enhance your life with something greater, they are something that you didn’t have before. Life will always try to get you caught up, busy, stressed out, confused, and distracted from being able to look at your kids for what they are - “A Gift” for your enjoyment. Hard seasons in motherhood will try to shape your perspective on your child and get you to feel scared about who they are or what they will become. But it’s in those moments we must remember “No, they are Gifts from God for my enjoyment.”

This phrase always calls me higher. It makes me not want to miss the moments, even the hard ones. It makes me stare at the hard moments and dig deeper to find out the strength I see in my kids even when they are driving me wild. It makes me want to appreciate them for who they are and help develop who they are at a greater level! Not just looking at the face-value annoyance they are causing me in the moment but seeing the strength in them and calling it out! Since we are on the topic of Ford let me give you an example of what I mean. Ford almost 10 years later is still SO PASSIONATE, he has obsessive qualities to him about whatever gets his heart. He is fiercely relentless and has the endurance to make what’s in his heart come to life. His persistence is inspiring TRULY. Michael and I often think MY GOD he is going to build something great one day! He is amazing, right? The truth is, practically in life right now, those amazing qualities also get him in the most trouble at times. You can look at those qualities and think is there something wrong with him, or he is annoying, or maddening, or why God why won’t he stop asking me the same stinking question HA! OR you can look at him through the lens of “He is a gift for your enjoyment” to unwrap slowly, appreciate, enjoy, and take care of! This perspective calms your heart and allows you to see the gold in them even if right now that gold is under the surface of their youth.

The Lord is so kind to give us our kids, not just to take care of and train up but also to enjoy! I am praying that this week you will have these moments with your kids. That you wouldn’t get caught up in starring at the current weak spot in them but with the help of the Holy Spirit He would cause your eye to see the gold in that immature spot in their life and you would call it out greater and enjoy them just where they are at! You got this Mom!! Praying for you!