I think we all know that motherhood is a daily exercise in multitasking. Sometimes I do that successfully and sometimes I just put too much on my plate. So for future reference, if you try to assemble your crockpot meal and your homemade laundry detergent at the same time, you may very well end up with a fine layer of soap over your pork chops. I’ve also learned that if you’re trying to sing a soft lullaby to your daughter while quietly backing out of her room, it is possible that you’ll step on the sit n’ spin and launch yourself right into her bedroom wall.
While multitasking is often necessary to get everything done a mom needs to accomplish in a day, I find that sometimes it keeps me from focusing on what’s really important. I can be so busy trying to make a phone call while changing the baby’s diaper that I can totally ignore the needs of the child at my feet. I sometimes imagine God functions the same way. He’s got to be so busy in more important matters that maybe he forgets I’m here. It seems impossible that he loves and values me so much that he hears my prayers and even puts my tears in his bottle. If God can prioritize my needs that way, I want to be mindful of the needs of my children, too. I want them to know how important they are to God because they feel confident about how important they are to me. While of course the cooking and cleaning need to get done, I think it’s okay to stop and take a minute away from my multitasking to focus on the souls God has placed in my care.