Our toddler frequently grabs a piece of paper or small notepad and asks me, “What you want Mama?” Typically, I will give her my order of some foods for her to pretend to prepare or some items for her to write on her ‘grocery list’. About a month ago, when she asked this commonplace question, my mind unexpectedly sent out a flurry of silent answers for her…
- Joy and contentment
- Obedient children – For the older girls to not question and correct me; for our oldest son to eat foods everyone else eats; for our toddler to not scream and throw tantrums; for our sweet baby to sleep longer at night
- Children who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength
- To get outside in the fresh air more
- To be able to pray aloud with my husband
- To sleep for more than 4-5 hours a few nights in a row
- To have time to record the memory verse songs
- To not be so pressed for time and always feeling behind
- To be a prayer warrior for my kids and husband
- To be in the Word and sitting at Jesus’ feet daily
- To draw my children close and to not push them away with my too quick responses, harsh tones, or actions
- More time with my husband
- Trees and flowers
- To not feel so tired and to not look so tired and worn out all the time
She kept asking and I kept telling her some of my favorite foods to add to her list of circles and scribbles, but even after she ran off to play something else, the unspoken responses stayed with me. Many of these ‘wants’ were good things. However, could any of them possibly have become idols? I also noticed that several of the ‘wants’ were caused by areas of sin in my life that must be dealt with. For example, was I correctly training and instructing or had I been letting certain behaviors slip by without addressing them? And then there were a few that I had to question as to whether they were actually grumblings and discontentment against my faithful Lord.
God can use the innocent speech of our children to prick our hearts and to help turn our thoughts back to Him.
Your website has been a wonderful help and encouragement to me! Not only have my children benefited from the curriculum, but I, a mother, truly appreciate your transparency and humbling, challenging reminders throughout your blog. Thank you! God bless you and your lovely family :)
WOW! Thank you for sharing “What you want mama?”. I am a mother of three wonderful and beloved children all under 5 years old. And that is frequently exactly how I feel…….maybe I thought I was the only one).
By the way. THANK YOU so much for your curriculum. I am a public school teacher but stayed at home after our youngest was born in January. Then decided to home school our 4 years old. I was looking for a Christ-centered curriculum until God led me to your site. It is wonderful! Now have you thought about adding Science to it?