Overwhelmed??

“The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.”

~Pope St. Gregory the Great

Do you every get overwhelmed? I think it’s safe to say that any normal person gets overwhelmed every once in a while. I had a good friend of mine tell me that I never look frazzled a couple weeks ago. The very next week she saw me at our kids story time at the library and said I looked tired and she’d never seen me look tired before. I guess I just do a good job of hiding it most of the time, but I get overwhelmed just like the rest of you. (Just ask my husband)

This past week has been particularly overwhelming. We celebrated two birthdays, finished getting Halloween costumes ready, had 3 get-togethers with friends, and dealt with a sick baby boy. So let’s just say that the lack of sleep mixed with all the happenings got to me a bit. I know I haven’t been the most pleasant person to be around the past couple of days either.

So this morning as I was saying my morning prayers, and looking for some inspiration to start the day off well, I came across the quote I posted at the top. So today, instead of being grouchy I decided I would just work as hard as I could and put a smile on my face. Every time I thought I was getting irritated with the kids I just asked for a little patience, and worked a little harder. I realized that sometimes it’s in the quiet times that you love your family the most.

Loving our children is one of the greatest gifts that we can give them as mothers. But let us remember that we love our children much more by our actions than by the words that we speak. The love that we have for our family should propel our work. Jesus loved us so much that he died for us. Even though Jesus spoke loving words every time he opened his mouth it was what He did while He lived on this earth that we remember and try to emulate. Be like Christ to your family! Sometimes they are the people that are hardest to be Christ-like to,especially on those days that we are overwhelmed the most.