Pillows and Prayers; Experiences of A Stay At Home Mom

     Raising children can be one of the most joyful and difficult tasks for parents.  Sometimes those difficulties are especially highlighted being a stay-at-home mother with very little breaks.  It is during those times of tantrums, spills, diaper changes, door slamming, and maintaining hectic schedules that one may question their faith.  Not so much about God's existence, but where He can be found in the midst of the day to day activities that seem to consume our lives.

     My oldest child, Samuel, came home from his first day of school only to be bombarded with an array of questions from his eager parents wanting to know about how his day went.  He casually answered that it was a good day other than "having to sleep on hard mats with no pillows."  Knowing that this was a rare opportunity for us to bond, I immediately took him to our office to make a pillow case for him to take to school the next day.  We carefully picked out different fabric markers, making sure that the cat we had drawn looked just like the one in the photograph we were using.  As I wrote a Bible verse on the back of the case, he stated that he no longer wanted to take the pillow to school.  
     I immediately began the questioning, again, to find the source of his immediate rejection of our craft.  Samuel began to explain that no other children had a pillow for nap-time in the class.  He did not want them to be jealous because they could not have one like his.  There is no way that Samuel could possibly know that his school is one of the poorest in the county, but none the less the Spirit within him was speaking.  He asked if we could make a pillow like his for the other children.  Our church choir, at Trinity UMC in Dalton, helped us raise enough money that we were able to make pillow cases as well as purchase travel size pillows to go in them!  We delivered them to the school, and word quickly spread about Samuel's generosity.

I believe that in these moments of kindness, God's love radiates in such a way that opens doors in this world for the Kingdom to flow forth.  I try daily to teach my children right from wrong and to care for others.  However, the best way for them to learn is through Christian love in action.  This kind of Kingdom living can be talked about, but is not truly expressed until our hearts meet action.  It is difficult enough to raise children in this generation, much less to raise Christian children.  Through the church stepping outside of its walls and embracing creativity, we can reach a world that is in desperate need of a Savior.  A Savior that even a 4 year old knows His voice, is most definitely worth sharing.