Lessons from the Lobby

Ah the sense of humor God must have. . . My sweet, sweet, angel of a child decided to test my patience at church this morning. . . Yes, I said church. I stopped praying for patience a long time ago, but apparently God is not finished with me yet. She had already pushed the limit in the sanctuary and we were now headed to the room designated for nursing mothers. As I opened the door of my "safe haven" at church, I was met with an awkward stare. Yes, I belong in here. . . Yes, she is STILL nursing. . . And no, you really don't want to ask me about it!    

I knew 3 minutes in. . . this would NOT be my safe haven today. My little one wanted to weave in and out of the rockers while the sweet mothers tried to put their babies to sleep. When H waved to one of the mothers and shouted "hi!" I could tell her sweet smile and exploring personality were not welcome here this morning. I tried to wrangle her. . . Fail. She had picked this morning to fully assert herself. 

She was throwing a fit with the passion of a fighter. . . She was going to win. . . Her trophy would be my shame. The other mothers looked on as they rocked their sweetly sleeping babies.  I could hear their "shhhh" growing louder as they attempted to drown out the wails of an angry toddler.  I'm sure they were thinking, "my child will never be allowed to act that way." Ha! I can say this with confidence and a laugh because that was me a few months back. Mommas of new babies I got news for you. . . Your day is coming. Your sweet angel WILL act a fool in public. . . As I felt their judging gaze burn through my back, I did what any mother in my situation would do. . . I abandoned ship. I scooped up my screaming child and ran for the door. Making a comment about teething as we left. . . I needed the other mothers to know there was a reason she was acting this way.. . That sure beat them thinking I was just an awful mother. 

We found our place, hidden in the far corner of the lobby, where she preceded to run around for the remainder of the service with no regard for my authority.  Veteran mommas you will understand. . . This was one of those times I wasn't touching her unless she was about to run out the door or electrocute herself. At this point, the best way to avoid further embarrassment was to leave her alone! This was not the time or place for a lesson. How do you really reason with a 1 year old anyways?!?! 

Through the speakers above I heard bits and pieces of the message. . . The pastor said, "God is omnipresent because he doesn't want to miss a minute of our game." Well that's funny I thought! I bet he is enjoying watching my "game" this morning. I also was happy to know he saw the "game" those other mothers brought this morning as they made my angel and I feel unwelcome. . . I know, I know. . . I shouldn't think that way. . . But I couldn't help it. I am human! 

While what I heard streaming from the pulpit sounded powerful, MY lesson at church this morning didn't happen in the sanctuary. . . MY lesson happened in the lobby. How many people have I sent to the lobby? How many times had my judgement sent someone running? My lesson wasn't about patience. . . It was about the love and acceptance of Jesus. I know I've said it before, but it can't be said enough. . . Mommas, give each other grace! We can be terrible to each other. The thing that makes no sense is we are all in this together. . . We KNOW what it's like. . . I mean we REALLY know!  The greatest irony is. . . the same mother who had the screaming toddler one week, is suddenly the epitome of June Cleaver when her little one is having a good week and it's my turn to wrestle a one year old. Why do we do this?  I must confess, I'm as guilty as anyone. I've given the eye to an exhausted and exasperated momma. What does that actually accomplish though? 

Let's make a deal. . . Next time I see your kid screaming in church, I got your back. . . I will affirm you and help you in anyway I can. I'm coming off my high horse and showing you the grace you deserve. . . Then next week, I can assure you my daughter will make sure you are able to return the favor. Most days we are all just trying to survive this crazy thing called motherhood, the least we can do for each other is give one another a break!