Moments for Mum

with ELISABETH CORCORAN

Picture yourself at a New Year’s Eve ball.

Right now you’re thinking: ‘You want me to picture myself at a ball? I haven’t done laundry in a week, I only think I showered sometime yesterday, my baby is crying, my toddler is throwing things at me, and I vaguely remember what my husband looks like – and you want me to picture myself at a ball?’

Yes, I do. Imagine yourself at a ball. And you’re dressed up, and having the time of your life, so you think. You are mingling. You are dancing with just about everyone. Everyone, that is, except the gracious host.

Well, actually, what you’re doing with these other people should not be considered dancing as you’re stepping on their toes more than moving in a gentle, reciprocating rhythm. The host, on the other hand, has asked you to dance … in fact, you’re there as his date, so the invitation to dance is an open one.

But there are so many people to talk with, and so many things to do. You find yourself filling up your time with endless chatter and tasks. You are making the punch, but you realize you don’t know how to make punch … you’ve never done it before. And you take in the fact that your dress is getting dirty and torn … well, you’ve never danced much before either. Not to mention alone. Dancing alone can be messy. And dangerous. And lonely.

If only you would stop and take your gaze off your dress, or your feet, or the myriad of people and things pulling at you, and lock eyes with the person who not only wants your full attention, but has been giving you his this entire time. He is ready to whisper to you how to make punch, and to keep your dress - and you - looking lovely, and to show you how to dance. And he is willing to make this experience even fuller and sweeter than you thought it could ever be. You just need to take his hand and let him lead you. You just need to join him in the dance … because he is the one who wrote the music.

Mum, are you dancing alone? Or with others besides the one who brought you? He wants to make your life sweet and secure and meaningful and more rhythmic. He has given you an open invitation to join Him in the dance of life. Will you accept His offer? This year, in the midst of all the leaves turning over, commit to let God lead you through this life. Then go in peace … and enjoy the dance.

• Elisabeth K. Corcoran is the author of Calm in My Chaos: Encouragement for a Mom’s Weary Soul (available on www.amazon.com). She is wife to Kevin, and mum to Sara, 7, and Jack, 5 1/2. Her passion is encouraging women and she fulfils that through heading up the Women’s Ministries at Blackberry Creek Community Church in Aurora, Illinois, USA, and writing as much as she can. This column is original and not excerpted from her book.

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