Motivate Me Monday: A Time to Embrace

Embrace:
to seize eagerly;
to lay hold on;
to receive or take with willingness that which is offered;
to embrace the opportunity of doing a favor.

i can't give you a specific source, mostly because i feel that it has been coming from several places these last few days or weeks, that i have been encouraged to Embrace some things.

one day last week, i decided that instead of getting frustrated and upset, i was going to embrace my "duty" as a mother to clean up after my youngest children.

Mid-note 1. {ya know, kinda like a footnote, but in the middle} i use the word duty carefully, i don't want it to come across like it's a duty and nothing more, but as a mother things do start to feel more like duties and less like joyful giving, if you know what i mean.

2. my older children are required to clean up after themselves, but my toddler and 3 yr old are still in the learning process and i often get frustrated that their room is a constant disaster area.

ok, where was i? oh yeah... i was going to embrace my "duty" as a mother to clean up after my youngest children. in other words, i decided to quite pouting and complaining about the fact that their room was always a mess and how when i take the time to clean it, it doesn't last for more than approximately 3.67 minutes.

that day i cleaned it up. it actually managed to stay clean for a bit. and before the youngest's naptime i picked up what had been left out on the floor {the bins that were too heavy for the 2 yr old to pick up} and guess what... it's wasn't that bad. i truly believe i spent LESS energy cleaning up a few toys than i would have had i worked up a good adult tantrum about the whole matter.

silly i know, but i'm just keepin' it real here.

there are so many other things and areas and struggles and just plain ol' not fun stuff, from silly stuff like messy rooms and piles of dishes to sinful thorns in my side, that i've been resisting for whatever reasons and i feel it's time to turn and face some of them head on. i'm the kind of person that believes everything is for a reason; every situation is a learning/growing/spiritual-perfecting opportunity. it's time i stop complaining about and trying to avoid these things and start embracing them.

Now it's your turn to... Share some advice, wisdom, practical applications, tips you've learned, etc... that you think would benefit and motivate others.

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