Mother's Day #5

Our daughters among the giant trees

 Today began with the anticipation of waiting.  I looked forward to worship with a visiting missionary (and mother of 4 girls!), cards, gifts, and an afternoon meal, courtesy of my dear husband, Brian.  My pastor has described Mother's Day as an unofficial "holy day".  Here's what author Anna Voskamp's website posted in 2012 about Mother's Day,
No one gets it perfect.
And that’s exactly why we sing Amazing Grace — and it really is!
Motherhood does not require complete perfection and a Superman cape.
It simply requires an imperfect commitment and the surprising humility of Christ.

 Here's what happened:
Yesterday evening, we met my family at a Korean restaurant.  It was a fine meal and we talked about Iris and my nephew Matthew's upcoming H.S. graduation.  He's soon to be in college, and our daughter has yet to learn to read.  We'll be working on that this summer.  Gifts and cards were exchanged.  Iris got a stuffed toy pony that she decided to name "Marina" which is her teacher's name.  Sophia spent the afternoon getting ready for prom with friends at another person's house.  I prayed for her positive experience as well as a safe and special night to remember.   So, I spent the evening watching a video that she and her friends had watched the prior evening.  It was a teen movie, but I was surprised to see some redeeming qualities in the story about a father who wishes to be 17 again.  Through an unbelievable transformation, he becomes himself at 17 again, but realizes his errors and wasted time after 20 years of marriage.  Because I've been studying Genesis all year through BSF,  I consider the long waits in the lives of the Joseph, Jacob, Isaac and Abraham.  I know that God doesn't waste out lives.  If I constantly turn toward Him, I will see the good in my life, as well as in those I love.

Today, I woke up, read my B.S.F. lesson, and asked Brian what time he returned after picking up Sophia from the prom.  I was looking forward to seeing her prom photos, and hear about her time with friends and dancing...maybe.  I knew I would have to wait until I returned from church to hear about, so as to let her sleep in.

Voila! Iris made these Eiffel Towers

This morning, Daddy went to wake up and talk to Iris about the day.  Last night, he had talked to her about giving me her gift that she made at school.  She was wanting to keep it for herself.  This seems a bit contrary to the purpose of the gift, but how does Iris make sense of that?  This morning, she presented me with a fun, Peanuts card, and held the present in another hand.  Then, she promptly started opening it up in my presence.  When Daddy points out that the gift is for Mommy (me) to open, she starts to cry.  Eventually, I got to open the gift and we all shared viewing it at the table.  Yet, she latched on to Daddy saying that she can have this one, but needs to make a 2nd one for Mommy.  That's all she could focus on.  Is this greed?  Is this fear of losing something valuable?  Is this demanding response whenever we do not yield to the One we must honor and to whom we give our most precious gifts?

Mmmmmm lettuce and radish from the school garden!

By the grace of God, Iris and I got to church on time and we each attended our Sunday School classes.  Then, she was happy to stay through another Sunday School, as I helped with worship service.  Retuning home by 12:30pm seemed very important to Brian, so I suspected something related to my surprise would start soonafter I came home.  And the surprise (sort of)?  Another family that has two children came over for a barbecue; exactly as the other mom and I had talked about a couple of weeks ago.  What a lovely Sunday afternoon!  We sat outside, had plenty to eat, and Iris looked happy playing with Claire and Stephen.  She really enjoyed sharing her "lipstick" that I gave her for her ballet show yesterday.  She was in the candy cane group that danced (with lots of cues from her teacher who was in the wings) on stage.  I can't wait to show her on the DVD I ordered.  So, today Iris continued to talk about her lipstick and shared it with the other two kids by drawing on their faces.  The afternoon was a great time of hearing about our friends' lives, eating tasty food, and for me, being free enough to sit back and not to worry about chores, especially cooking.  The best part was that I could speak freely with this couple who are Christian about God's blessings, Jesus' teachings, and God's Word. 

Children's Day/Boy's Day (May 5th in Japan) display at a friend's house

As the hour is late, I'm back to the reality of doing the "Mom" duties-making lunches, thinking of our daughters' schedules, planning my goals for the day, and prepare for tomorrow evening's meetings (a dessert potluck and phone interviews for the next Associate Pastor at my church).  Looking forward to other family activities, we've made plans to visit the former Associate Pastor (Mike G.) in his new home and church over Memorial Day weekend, set a date for a graduation party for nephew and niece, secure a camping site for Labor Day.  Fun, fun, fun!  I cling to the passage about how God gives us only what he has equipped us to do.  May God help me with all the activities that I've chosen to be part of.