February MOPS email

I can't help but NOT share this...

You’re Not Alone, by Christa Hogan, mom of two
<<After a particularly long, sleepless night, I decided I’d earned a latte. I dropped my oldest son off at preschool and headed to Starbucks with the baby. But as soon as I pulled into the drive-through line and placed my order, he woke up and started to cry. I knew he was fed and clean, but he wouldn’t stop crying no matter what I tried. My car was blocked in the drive-through line, and I had no choice but to wait it out.
 
Hormonal, exhausted, frazzled and leaking breast milk, I finally pulled up to the window for my latte after what felt like an eternity. I was fighting back tears as the barista at the window handed me my drink. But when I tried to pay he shook his head.  “The lady ahead of you in line already paid for your order,” he explained. “She said, ‘From one mom to another.’ ”

I felt a wave of relief. The baby was still crying. I was still leaking. I was still exhausted. But I was no longer alone. I was reminded that I was part of a larger, sometimes anonymous, community of moms doing their best for their kids. I don’t remember if the baby stopped crying before I drove all the way home, but I do remember how good that latte tasted.

Dear God, you designed us for community. Teach me to both receive and contribute to making the most of mine.>>

I am still reading through Matthew, slow but steady. I am pretty sure I am not going to be "doing the work," so to speak, of preaching the gospel, healing the sick or casting out demons, which Christ so profoundly commissioned His disciples to do. But I am a light, an example. My church family and the future of it is connected directly to the life I live, day in and day out. While most moms I spend time with don't go to church with me on the Sabbath, they are my friends and they help me, they shape me and make me a better woman and mother. Community is HUGE. Christ said that, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matthew9:37-38). In whatever way I can, I hope that I can serve Him and the future He has planned for everyone I am connected to.

...Truth be told, I just want someone to buy me Starbucks. Justtttt kidding.