Does your kitchen look like this?
. . . because this is my kitchen!!!
I can make all these wonderful post about what I do in my perfect little kitchen but it wouldn't be real. This is what my kitchen looks like most of the time.
I am always weak and I always need help in the kitchen.
Underneath the little picture of St. Gianna (above) says, "One cannot love without suffering or suffer without loving." -St. Gianna.
It's so true! Suffering can also include the dishes and the dreaded laundry. In fact, those are my sufferings. I dream of being a missionary and going back to the days of doing pro-life work. But for now, this is my suffering and boy does it stink.
It's the silent suffering that only God knows about. It's this vocation of motherhood that I have chosen, and it is really hard.
I have realized that it's OK to ask for help when I am weak.
My mom was just talking to me about being a supermom. She said the idea that we have to be a supermom is worldly and ridiculous. We are not supermoms, and neither should we strive to be one. We are weak and need help from those around us. Being a wife and mother is hard and it's absolutely necessary to ask for help.
What do I need when I am weak?
I need strength to make better choices regarding what I eat and feed my family.
I need help in the kitchen to make better foods for my family.
How do I get this help?
I have to ask for it. I can't expect my husband (or children) to read my mind.
I have to be specific. If I need the dishes done, I can't assume my husband knows that, I have to say it!
I need courage to say no to foods that make me tired and grumpy. For me this is sugar and gluten.
I need humility to realize that I have to take care of my health. I have different food needs and I cannot ignore or pretend that things are different.
How do I get all these things that I need?
I pray.
In fact,
I cannot afford not to pray. I have to make those dishes and laundry a prayer and a sacrifice. It's what gives me the strength to get through.
"With God all things are possible." - Matthew 19:26
I love it, Sarah! After my day in our kitchen, I really needed this!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it the truth? Cooking healthy can be SO hard sometimes!
ReplyDeleteNo... that's never my kitchen... never...
ReplyDelete*hides from dish monsters in the sink*
hehe :)
ReplyDeleteHey! I didn't say you could put a picture of my kitchen on your blog.....
ReplyDeleteYou can always tell the priorties of a stay-at-home mom by looking at her kitchen and you obivously have yours in the right place: husband, babies and making nourishing foods. After all, they are only dishes! They have no feelings, no soul and they don't even last very long. So when it comes time for penance the dishes are first in line and only then should they come first.
So true!! You are so wise!
ReplyDeleteClare your sentiment is spot on. Thank you for the perspective of who comes first and the priorities in ones life :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you Clare! I can often get down about how much work life is! It's easy to get those priorities mixed up!
ReplyDeleteI'm still coming to grips with the fact that on his own my husband can't read my mind and then the other day during a particularly rough "this guy is driving me crazy" moment I stopped and asked St. Helena for a bit of help (strangely enough her name had been running thru my head for weeks and it was only that night that I learned she was the patron of difficult marriages...hmmm....) and not even an hour later my husband suddenly had this inclination that he really needed to do somethings around the house. It was amazing.
ReplyDeleteWe all need help, I firmly believe after living with my parents for a year (a little pre and then post first baby) and now living down the street from them that extended family living (whether biological or not) is the only way to get thru parenting. It's not something anyone is meant to do by themselves!
Molly, I have those same sentiments! My mother lives across the country and I have a VERY hard time without her or my other siblings who would drop everything to help me out. I pray to move closer to them everyday. God has given me wonderful friends who help a lot but it's still not the same as family. I didn't know that about St Helena, i will keep her in mind during difficult times!
ReplyDeleteAmen.... dishes and laundry are my downfall as well. If it makes you feel any better, I have had laundry sitting there for TWO WEEKS that needs to be folded. I've taken to putting it in clear rubbermaid bins so that when visitors come over, I can put it in our bedroom and then bring it out again when they leave.... MEANING always to fold it, but ugh... I pretty much clean the house top to bottom and then use it as an excuse to not have time to fold laundry.
ReplyDelete*shamefaced*
PS: St. Therese's "Little Way" is the only thing that keeps me going and helps me survive. Motherhood is the epitome of opportunities to live the Little Way. Diapers, dishes, cleaning, nurturing, disciplining... all normal, everyday things that typically don't garner thanks, aren't as easy to do because they aren't "heroic" acts of sacrifice, and really are just a huge cross that we have to suffer in order to conquer pride. If it wasn't for the Little Way, I'd be toast. I'd probably complain constantly and/or nag my husband. Praise God for this Saint's lessons in humility.
ReplyDeleteamen! I love St. Therese!
ReplyDeleteOh joy! Mine looks like this too some days. Just can't seem to get a grip. I am hoping these wonderful ladies can help me out. Can't wait to see what they have to say. http://www.domesticdiva.ca/blog/moon-rhythms-in-the-kitchen/
ReplyDeleteI needed to see this this evening. Thank you for the honesty. God Bless you and peace be with you :)
ReplyDelete