The Mother Load... moments of holy in the midst of the messy, mundane, and chaos.

Do you ever have one of those days when it hits you so fully that you are indeed a mother?

For some it's the first time they hold their child, or the first time they quiet their crying baby, or the first "mama", or the first time they are puked on.


For others it's on an ordinary day with a car full of kids in car seats and a full agenda.

I had one of those days recently. It went something like this..

6:30am   Wake to discover the cat's accidents on carpet and clean up mess.

6:40am   Morning quiet time. I love ending with daily readings from "Jesus Calling"

7:00am   Joined by little feet needing morning cuddles.

7:10am   Start a load of laundry. Shower while kids get dressed and bring all their concerns, issues, and disagreements to me to solve in the shower.

7:30am   Pack lunches, make breakfast, and put dinner in the cooler to drop off to friends later.

7:35am   Clean Carter's ear and face from ear tube drainage overnight.  Note to self: Call ENT!

7:40am   Pack car for VBS, picnic lunch, Safety Town, doctor's appts, play dates, and library.

7:55am   Dozen or so trips from car to house later, switch laundry, and pull out of driveway. Drink breakfast smoothie in the car. Forgot coffee :(

8:00am   Arrive at church, haul in all our bins and bags, and set up for today's games at VBS. Pass off meal for someone else to drop off. (Thank you!!)

8:15am   Change Julia pants. First accident of the day.

8:20am   Greet preschoolers and head to worship rally.

8:30am   Sneak out to make appt with ENT for Carter

8:40am   Awesome friend delivers my favorite Starbucks coffee to VBS!! Enjoy sweet time of worship with 487 kids.

8:50am   First group of VBS kids in games: 12 kids, 3 games, one potty break, 3 runny noses, 1 time out... and repeat 4 more times.

9:30am   Snack time for 55. Pray, pass, pour, spill, wipe, wash, refill, repeat.

9:50am   Back to games to finish last 4 groups.

10:10am   Stop everything to sit down with a group of preschoolers who wanted to share how cancer has impacted their own lives. (They had heard me share Julia's cancer story in worship the day before.)

12:00pm   Deep breath. Quick bathroom break. Lots of smiles from the morning's activities. Boisterous goodbyes. Pick up Carter upstairs, Julia down the hall, pack up, and load car. Change Julia again.

12:15pm   Switch Julia's car seat for afternoon playdate. Does anyone else have a love/hate relationship with car seats? Man I love them, but they are work! Pass her and her gear and head off to Safety Town.

12:35pm   Arrive at Safety Town. Picnic lunch on the lawn and finish daily homework for ST.

1:00pm   Check in Carter.

1:15pm   Stop at library to return books and pay fine. Whew, relief to not be a felon for a while :) Note to self: do not let the kids' persuasive talents convince meet to check out DVDs ever again. They are always late!

1:40pm   Stop at Target for new underwear for the kids.

1:55pm   Stop at Petsmart for more fish tank filters.

2:15pm   Grocery shop at Costco. Check voicemail and return phone calls.

2:45pm   Drop off cold food at Daddy's office for refrigeration.

3:00pm   Pick up Carter at Safety Town and head to ENT appt. Find out that he prayed to accept Christ today at VBS!! Brief conversation to be continued later...

3:30pm   See ENT. Carter has severe infection in his tubs and is pulsating fluid. Doc cleans and vacuums it out. I need one of those at home! I can think of all kinds of uses. He just took the bulb syringe up 20 notches!  Three prescriptions and a follow-up appt later and we're out the door.

3:50pm   Stop at shoe store. Carter has outgrown his sneakers-again! Find shoes, but none in his size. Head to next shoe store, same trouble. Why do my kids always seem to wear the most popular size in the county?!

4:35 pm   Pick up Julia. Give kids a snack. Change her again. Switch back car seats.

5:15pm Meet Daddy for "dollar tacos" to celebrate Carter's big decision today. Love that place! Delicious fresh food and can't beat the price.

6:00pm   Take Carter to get sneakers at third shoe store of the day. He needs them for tomorrow.

6:30pm   Stop to pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy.

6:50pm   Finally return home for the first time today and unload.

Does everyone else's car look this way at the end of a busy day?

7:05pm   Put away groceries, check the mail, switch the laundry, return phone calls, give the cat her medicine, make the kids a snack, water the garden, give them showers, give everyone their medicine and vitamins, brush teeth, read books, wrestle Carter's ear drops in, talk more about the meaning of salvation, say prayers, and tuck them in.

8:25pm   Whew! It's time to sit down for a quick breather. Time to plan the games for tomorrow's VBS, lay out clothes, finish laundry, catch up with hubby, work on Bible study, read blogs, return emails.

10:30pm   Crawl into bed for quiet time with God and sleep.

These are the days I realize, in every sense of the word, I am a mother. And as crazy as it all seems sometimes, there are so may moments in each and every day when God gives us a glimpse of the holy... in the midst of the messy, mundane, and chaotic.

I pray that I have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to experience these daily. I pray I take the time daily, as many times as it takes, to center my thoughts on Him and find calm and peace in any storm. May I never be too busy to drop everything to turn my full attention to God's calling in the moment whether with my children, my husband, a friend, or a stranger. In all of the crazy busyness off the day, there were moments of pure worship, times of tender loving care for a child, laughs with friends, tough conversations with kids about cancer, sharing Biblical truth, and decisions made for Christ!

All of this on an "ordinary day". But that's just how God works. It's not something we orchestrate, prepare for or plan. It just happens.   And usually when we least expect it.