My Mother's Devotional Idea

This is from Feb 13, 2009
It occurred to me the other day...there needs to be a devotional book for moms. Now, I'm certain there are lots of those already on the shelves at the bookstores, but mine would be different. It would address the needs of "special" moms. Those of us who, well, let's just say DON'T have it all together.
The last week I drove carpool I had a rather humbling experience. I usually park the car and get out to collect my girls (four of them, mine and two friends, thus the carpool). The reason I do this is because MY girls are rather wild (let me remind you that though I did not give birth to these children it does not mean they haven't picked up a thing or two under my roof). Last year for instance, while I was waiting in the pick up line I witnessed, to my horror, Ariel climbing the only little spindly tree in the school yard. I think Cheyenne was running around it like an Indian, I'm not entirely sure because it was at this point that I put a bag over my head in hopes of either suffocating, or at least being unrecognizable by the teachers who were glaring at me.( Now that I think about it I have regular humbling experiences.) Anyway, after that I decided it would be better to just meet trouble head on, beside that tree, every afternoon. On this particular day I had a feeling I was going to be just a tad late. I am never late, well almost never, but on this day I was like an Olympic fraction of a second late and I got stuck in the parking lot driveway. This makes the traffic one way and you guessed it I was going the wrong way. There is a teacher who directs traffic standing in the parking lot. It is up to his discretion who goes when. First, a few pick up people got to go, then (here's the humbling part) he let the entire parking lot empty out. I had to just sit there and take it....one by one all the other mommies, the on time mommies, the got it all together mommies passed me by. Some of them smiled a sympathetic "I've been there" smile. Some totally ignored me as if I were invisible (God bless them!). But some, looked at me with a look of superiority. They were saying to themselves and maybe even their children,"Look at THAT mom, she was late, that's why she has to sit there in 'carpool timeout'. She's one of those 'can't get it all together moms'...now kids, do your homework and eat your vegetables and when you grow up you won't be one of those 'sitting in timeout moms'!" I got a little mad. I could see their disapproving stares. I had never been late before! Where was the love? And just when I thought it couldn't get worse...I saw that sad little tree swaying with my blonde monkey girl hanging from it! ARGH! I couldn't do a thing. I finally got my turn to move when the principal yelled to the traffic teacher to let the dumb mom with the monkey children into the parking lot so we could load up and get out of the way!(for the record, I'm certain that Mrs Hartley loves me and wouldn't say any of those things. I do however think she told the teacher to let me in.... with her bullhorn.)
So, that is the first of many reasons why I think there needs to be a devotional book for us ADD, not on time, a little messed up, iron-less but not quite permanent pressed mothers. If anyone needs God's grace it's us. I'm oh so glad to get it and I hope I'm never caught not sharing it, especially in carpool lines.