Waffles and Peanut Butter

I have discovered that mommys must often make do. Having children does not allow me to do things just the way I want to; in fact, most of the time, making do frustrates me and vilifies me all at the same time. I hated not having milk this morning, but I  sure was proud that Hayden was willing to eat a toaster waffle with peanut butter on it. It was nutritious and it was  all I had.

My innovation does not stop with creating new breakfast treats. These inventions come about as partially due to lack of time and mostly due to lack of monetary resources. My old sweat pants with the hole in the knee become “new” sweat shorts and the cut-off bottoms become dust rags. Old baby wipe containers become the perfect home for Handy Manny’s many tools.  The attachments to my breast pump broke (after MUCH use) so I found the attachments I was given in the hospital and modified them to fit my pump.

I know many mothers who function like this. Lunch is a conglomeration of leftovers;  old cereal boxes are saved to be used as building blocks. As mothers we are called upon to suddenly utilize the right side of our brains even if it had never before dawned on us that the discarded  cardboard tube from the paper towels could make a great pretend musical instrument. It is only in this day and age that our ways of recycling resources and avoiding waste, once done out of necessity, have become popular. Suddenly, the fact that we fish old egg cartons out of the trash to be used in art projcts and avoid feeding high-fructose corn syrup and artificial colors/sweeteners to our kids is not seen as crazy; it’s what’s ”in.” Living simply has always been the mantra of motherhood.

As a mommy I have to remind myself to give myself a break from ensuring my kids have all the newest, greatest toys, clothes or a hip mommy with trimmed hair and manicured nails. I refuse to feel like a neglectful parent because my children’s needs are not met perfectly; their needs are at least met and I am so thankful for this. Often these needs are met through God’s provision, not my own. This provision sometimes comes from unexpected places.

 Hand-me-down clothes from the mom who refuses to put her children in anything less than Baby Gap or Gymboree are great! Used furniture that can be made to look new with a coat of paint are a huge blessing. And not worrying that my children will not break their new toys because their toys came from their cousin’s closet instead of Toys R Us is a big relief. Living as a Christian often means that I will not have the same shiny, new things in my life that others seem to have. I know a family with seven small children  living happily for the Lord in a well-worn fifth-wheel trailer.  Dwelling in the Lord means contentment in every area of my life.

If my son can be content with waffles and peanut butter for breakfast, I can certainly be content with the cracked grout in my tile floors and the loose bricks on my front porch. I am sure I will find some way to make do.

“And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”  1 Timothy 6:8