garlands of grace

Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.Proverbs 1:8-9

I found the verse above this morning.  I really love it.  I think when I am teaching my children, I might just start saying to the children that I'm giving them garlands to grace their head!  I'm sure they won't think that is weird at ALL.  :-)  Seriously, I had not really thought of all that a mother teaches in that way.  It gives me such a pretty visual of all of the daily work we as moms do.  Reminding your son that he needs to wear deodorant...a garland of grace.  Training a toddler to not stick her finger in an electric socket...a garland of grace.  Helping a teenager navigate interpersonal relationships with other teens...a garland of grace.  Serving uneaten green vegetables to grumpy children...a garland of grace.  Teaching kids to wash and fold their own laundry...a garland of grace.  Copying Essentials Charts A-F and drilling vocabulary and spelling rules....yep, that too is a garland of grace.  I think today while I'm working with my children and teaching them all of the millions of things I teach each day, I will look at them and think about the garlands that will one day grace their head and adorn their necks.  I will remember that a soft answer turns away wrath and I will pray for extra measures of wisdom from God in this job that we call motherhood.  I don't know about you, but I just really needed to see my work as something beautiful today.  This is the time frame in the school year where we can get bogged down.  We are on our 3rd schedule and it still doesn't work without flaws.  We are lagging behind in a subject or two or we have a student or two really pushing back at our selection of curriculum, book, or even pencils (anyone else have kids who only like ONE pencil, that is perpetually lost???).  So I hope that this morning, this verse brings joy to you and encouragement like it did to me.  Many blessings to you and your students this week. 

Blessings,

Mrs. P