"Thank you, God, for little hands!"

This was an exclamation I made frequently as I washed the grubby little hands of my toddlers through the years.  The inspiration had come from a Christian author whose name I cannot remember since her book was loaned to me just for a short time.  She encouraged mothers to bring the spiritual dimension of life into the brief, seemingly insignificant moments of everyday life.  Because of my temptation to feel impatient at the tedious tasks of mothering little ones, I really grabbed on to this idea and ran with it!  When I bathed the kids, I talked about Jesus washing our hearts clean from the bad things we do.  While dressing them I told them how God had made them and was helping them to grow so big.  Then I would add that Daddy and I hoped that they wouldn't just grow big and tall, but that they would grow strong inside, too. 

While this may sound a little crazy, it brought so much meaning to the tasks which seemed to be repeated incessantly.  For many of our years with babies and toddlers, we were living in a huge city overseas that was very polluted with the diesel smoke of public transportation.  This meant that the task of keeping children clean and healthy was intensified and often painstaking (heating the bath water in a large kettle since hot water didn't come out of faucets, conserving water when there was a shortage during hot season,etc).  When I felt like I was at my wit's end, those words of thanks to God would automatically come out of my mouth, and in seconds, I would regain perspective on life.  "I'm so blessed, how can I complain about these tiny problems?!"

The best part of bringing spiritual lessons into daily life, is that kids pick up the habit, too.  On one occasion we heard our 3 year old admonish her erring younger sibling, "It says in the Bible to obey your parents!"   When our kids were sick and inconsolable, they would beg, "Pray, Mommy!"    During good times, there was a strong sense of everything coming from God who loves us so much.  Although we prioritized reading Bible stories to our kids and praying with them,  it seems the spontaneous teaching moments had just as great an impact on our children's spiritual growth.

Now, as I look back, I treasure the many happy moments of those early years.  Although I remember the hard work, what truly stands out are all of the sweet rewards.  Fun and laughter, love and togetherness, answered prayer, precious memories....all made possible by my loving Heavenly Father whose grace was always there.  So often it was His presence which soothed the rocky moments and brought peace and calm.

The closest I get now to my "thank you God for little hands" moments is praying every morning in the car with my 16 yr. old son, Peter, as I take him to school.  That same sweetness fills my heart as I commend him to God's care and send him off in hope that he will pray throughout his day.  My new role as a grandma seems to carry a lot less responsibility and a lot more fun, but I still plan to grab as many teachable moments as I can.  No doubt, little Liam will soon be hearing me say, "Thank you, God, for little hands!"    

by Joy Herman