I walked in the post office with a baby on my hip and three others toddling behind. No make up and hair that was barely brushed. I was sporting the same gray t-shirt that I have worn everyday so far this week…complete with several small holes and some kind of baby related stain.
I hand the postman my packages and answer the rote questions. He pauses and looks at me. “You are beautiful” he says. In complete shock I stood there staring at him. He was taken back by my lack of response and said “are you ok?”
I glanced down at the stain and winced at the thought of what my hair might look like. ”I guess I don’t feel very beautiful” is what finally stumbled out of my mouth. Concerned that I could even begin to feel this way, he said, ”There’s nothing more beautiful than a mom loving her kids.”
His words sink deep in my heart as the day moves on. I don’t really know what he saw that prompted him to say such a thing. But he blessed me.
A complete stranger with no other motive but to bless someone else. It wasn’t about him. It was about blessing me.
This is the kind of love I want to have. Love that can’t be held in. Love that is wide open. Love that is centered on giving to others.
I’d love to hear your thoughts? What can we do in our moments to love wide open?
disclaimer: The moment that he saw was one moment. He missed the many mom moments where cheerios were flying, hair was being pulled, people were yelling, and tantrums thrown on the floor. Just keeping it real. I’m so thankful for God’s grace in all my moments.
Kim Sorgius
Kim is just a girl, crazy in love with Jesus. She's a single mother of 4, a passionate homeschooler and life-long student. After teaching 8 years in public school, she traded her M.A. in Early Childhood for sippy cups and homeschool co-ops. Kim is the owner and editor of The Homeschool Village and Not Consumed where she encourages others to rest victoriously in the hands of God, rather than allowing life's difficult circumstances to consume.
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How very sweet that someone could look beyond the physical trappings and see deep inside to the love of a mama. Beautiful moment!
Don’t you think people see it sometimes, but for whatever reason simply don’t express it?
I really do, and I think I can tell you why.
I’ll see a mom with an obviously developmentally delayed child, and there is such a sweet mother-child interaction, that I’ll want to comment on it, but I don’t. I don’t want the mom to feel that I’m being condescending or sarcastic.
And to be honest, when I first read your experience, before I moved on to the next sentence, my first thought was, “What a guy, trying to flirt with a mom who clearly has her children in tow.”
My bet is that most people would probably have the same knee-jerk reaction. I don’t know. And then throw in all of the sexual harassment and such cases that there are out there, and it’s understandable.
Does that make sense?
Yes. You are right. So sad that we live in a “free” country that really isn’t free at all. If only we could lovingly express something without the fear of recourse!