What a wonderful first meeting we had. I must apologize for not updating sooner, but it has been quite an eventful weekend for your writer (me). Here are some of the updates from our first meeting. Of course, we had the obligatory announcements -
Announcements, announcements, announcements
A terrible way to die, a terrible way to die
Hi ho the derry-o, a terrible way to die.
Just joking, Sarah!!
Anywho, here are the updates from our meeting.
We spoke about coffee - we won't be having coffee because Sarah is using the coffee pot as a decoration in her living room. If you would like coffee, table 1 has a carafe and you can pay Shannon 25 cents a cup. Hahaha! Make sure to bring caffeinated beverages with you! Jenny's cowboy coffee can only go so far.
Happy Birthday Ashley and Allison - Hope you enjoyed Sarah's Marilyn Monroe/striptease impressions. Sarah, we love you, but don't quit your day job.
Tonya sent us a beautiful letter. We need to stop crying and move on with our lives. "Don't cry for me, Mom2Mom (sung to tune of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" We are so very proud of you Tonya and excited to hear what happens for you. Tonya, we didn't cry, although we were ready to. We are excited to hear about waht's going on!!!
- Speaking of Tonya, she is safe and sound in England. She is still without a fulltime home, but that will come soon.
If you did not fill out your G2KU (Getting to Know You), please get it to Christy as soon as possible. We want to get a roster made soon so we can get all information to you.
Welcome new childcare workers!!!! We could not do this without you!! We are so thankful for you and know that our children are in good hands!
Finally, Sarah read a wonderful letter called the Invisible Mother. We all feel this way at times, but we are building great cathedrals. Here is the letter in it's entirety. Thank Lisa for sending it to us.
Invisible Mother......
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the
lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the
room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the
store.
Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see
I'm on the phone?'
Obviously, not.
No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking,
or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the
corner, because no one can see me at all.
I'm invisible. The invisible Mom . Some days
I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this?
Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not
even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time
is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What
number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order,
'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once
held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind
that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had
disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
She's going; she's going; she is gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner,
celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had
just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on
and on about the hotel she stayed in.. I was sitting there,
looking around at the others all put together so well. It
was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned
to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I
brought you this.'
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .
I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to
me until I read her inscription:
'To Charlotte , with admiration for the
greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the
book. And I would discover what would become for me, four
life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we
have no record of their names.
These builders gave their whole lives for a work
they would never see finished.
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
The passion of their building was fueled by their
faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man
who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built,
and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a
beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you
spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that
will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.'
And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall
into place.
It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me,
'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make
every day, even when no one around you does. No act of
kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no
cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and
smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you
can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction.
But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.
It is the cure for the disease of my own
self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong,
stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a
great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job
that they will never see finished, to work on something that
their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that
no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because
there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my
son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college
for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning
and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey
for three hours and presses all the linens for the
table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a
monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home.
And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to
add, 'you're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We
cannot be seen if we're doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world
will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the
beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of
invisible women.
Great Job, MOM!
Share this with all the Invisible Mom s you
know...I just did.
Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough
as it sometimes does.
We never know what our finished products will turn
out to be because of our perseverance.
Lastly, in closing, I ask that you be in prayer for everyone in our group. You may not know everyone's name, but that's okay, God does. We had some serious weather yesterday (Sunday) and many of our members are without power. I will attach some pictures of our house after our beautiful tree decided to kiss our house. Thank you, Lord Jesus, our house was not damaged, but many houses were.
Heavenly Father,
We thank you that we have a group such as Mom2Mom to have a support group. We pray for all of our members as well as all those affected by the weather recently. Please watch over and keep them safe from more damage. We also pray for those in Texas who were directly affected by Hurricane Ike - especially Pastor Mike Bowie. We know that you will use this for good and for Your glory!!! We pray this and all the other prayers on our hearts in Your Holy and Blessed name. Amen.
Here's a thought for the day:
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
Psalm 107:29-30
God bless you all and stay safe as we all clean up from the storm.
No comments:
Post a Comment