We All Need A Little TLC
Yesterday my 5-year-old son was playing Star Wars guys with his big sister for about an hour. Now, it’s a rare occasion that the two of them are playing together with his toys and for so long. After she left, I saw him walk up the stairs with his head hung low and quietly go sit on his bed. I was folding laundry in the next room and after a few minutes I could hear his stifled sobs. So, half-way pretending to be putting away laundry, I happened upon him. He looked up at me with those sad blue eyes and I came and snuggled up next to him on the bed. I talked sweetly to him while I rubbed his back. He wanted me to read one of his favorite books, so I did. Then we played a game of who can clean up his room the fastest and I praised him for being “such a good helper!” After that he bounded out of the room with a big smile on his face! A few minutes are all it took to turn his sadness into joy.
It’s amazing to see the transformation that a little TLC, a little Mama’s love, can bring. Five or ten minutes of love and sweetness can change someone’s whole attitude. I read somewhere that every child needs at least one person in their life that is absolutely crazy about them. And I believe that’s true. When you know that someone loves and believes in you and they take the time to pour into you, it changes your life.
Every child needs at least one person in their life that is absolutely crazy about them.
What about us, don’t we need someone to pour into us too? Don’t we do better knowing someone believes in us? Is crazy about us? Someone who lifts us up when we are down? I have this dear friend that calls me the yin to her yang. We are very different but get along so well and complement each other. She is an absolutely beautiful woman and she always keeps a smile on my face. When I think about her and all that I love about her, one thing that really stands out is that she believes in me. I have her unwavering respect and love. She speaks very highly of me and brags on how great I am. (I’ve got her pretty fooled.) And it’s not in some comparison kind of way, but out of a sincere love for me. And I love her the same way! Knowing I have a friend like that, a love like that, it makes me feel good!
It is wonderful to have someone who builds you up and speaks very highly of you, but you know whose voice we hear most of all? Our own. The one in our head. We speak to ourselves more than anyone else. And what are we saying? Are we speaking with that sweet Mama voice? Are we speaking as one who loves and believes in ourselves? Or are we berating and belittling ourselves all day long? I know sometimes I catch myself doing just that. With all the craziness and chaos that comes with having 7 kids, I have to make decisions and judgments all day long. I set the tone and the atmosphere of my home, cause if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, right? So if I’m too hard on someone, or I can’t do what they need me to do at that moment, or I’m off the mark when figuring out who wronged who this time, or I just got up on the wrong side of the bed, I get unhappy with myself. I catch myself questioning myself, chiding myself, and even yelling at myself for things I should have done differently or for just not being enough for everyone. Then I stop myself and I use that sweet Mama voice again and I talk gentle to myself. I remind myself that I’m not perfect, but I do a lot of things right and I’m doing the best I can. Again, five or ten minutes of sweetness can change my attitude. A little TLC can give me the strength to keep going, to keep believing in myself.
So I encourage you today, no matter what you’ve done or not done, to be kind to yourself. To believe in yourself, no matter what you’ve been called to do, to trust in yourself and know you are enough and you can do it. Speak to yourself with that sweet Mama voice when you get down, and build yourself back up again. The closest thing to God’s love is the love of a mother. If He loves you that way then you need to love yourself; it can change your life!
