I Can't Give You All of My Time, But I Promise to Give You My Attention

So God Made a Mother is Here! 🎉

You came up to me as I reviewed documents for a client and, without intro, you launched into a lecture about dinosaurs and sea creatures and DNA and how scientists are wrong. I opened my mouth to tell you I was working and maybe this word explosion could wait for later.

I can’t give you all of my time. There is the feeding and the sheltering and the clothing, which require the working and the earning and the paying. When you see me here, I was about to tell you, when I’m pouring over papers and muttering to myself—this is the working time, not the you time.

But a little whisper stopped me. Pause and listen this time.

I did my best to switch gears from document prepping lawyer to attentive mom of a yarn-spinning seven-year-old. I bit my tongue to keep myself from fact-checking you, from editing your brilliant combination of truth and pure baloney.

I fought the tension of my brain pulling me back toward my perfectly laid out schedule, toward my list of must-get-done-today tasks, toward planning tomorrow and next week and next year.

I listened. I loved. I oohed and aahed and asked questions.

I swallowed the urge to stop you because the whisper said you would stop when you were finished.

And for 10 minutes you spilled out words to me, you gave me a glimpse of who God made you to be, you inspired me, and you challenged me.

Then you walked away. You left me to my work.

I stared down at my papers, lost in gratitude, in joy, in amazement. I get to be your mom. I get to be mom to this imaginative, energetic, force and I get to watch you grow and learn and become.

After you left, it took more of my minutes to get back into the mindset of words and papers and other lawyer stuff and it was totally worth it.

It was worth it to love you in the moment, to hear you, and to see you. It was worth it to give you those 10 minutes—to fight the errant thoughts and just be with you. It was worth it to listen to the whisper.

You can’t have all of my time, but I pray I listen to the whisper when He says pause and listen this time.

You can’t have all of my time, but I pray you feel heard and seen and loved at all times.

You can’t have all of my time, but I pray I give all of me in the time we have.

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Her View Shop

Stevie Swift

Stevie is a Jesus follower and single-mom to one crazy-awesome kid. She writes at www.stevieswift.com about being happily single, parenting, and Christianity. You can find her in the Pacific Northwest, putting pineapple on pizza and planning her next adventure, or on the interwebs with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

7 Strategies for Reducing Your Kids’ Screen Time

In: Kids, Living, Motherhood

Recently, my husband received military orders that moved us and our kids across the country. Of course, this came with a ton of changes—thankfully, the flexibility of my job allowed me to continue working, just with reduced hours, which then meant my full-time daycare kid had to become an (almost) full-time, at-home kid since we couldn’t hack the costs of childcare in our new location anymore. So, I suddenly had to figure out working with both of my kids at home with me. This sent my stress levels through the roof. Trying to juggle my priorities as a parent and...

Keep Reading

Dear Tween, I Will Try To Remember You Little

In: Kids, Motherhood, Tween

Tween boy lying on back of couch cushions in front of a window

When I hold you, I will try to remember your tiny arms and tiny legs wrapped securely around me. When I see you crying, I will try to remember your scraped, tanned knees and how I could fix anything with a kiss and a Band-Aid. When you tell me to go away, I will try to remember how you reached for my hand to take your next step. When you answer me with silence, I will try to remember the nights you wouldn’t let me go without one more story. RELATED: I’ll Lay With You As Long As You Need,...

Keep Reading

Look beyond the Labels for What You Don’t See

In: Kids, Motherhood

Three kids sitting on parents' laps smiling

I’ve always said that labeling someone with high- or low-functioning autism, or any disability for that matter, isn’t ever truly accurate. You may see an extremely smart girl who seems “normal” but you don’t see everything. You don’t see how the noises hurt her ears. You don’t see how the bright lights hurt her eyes. You don’t see how hard she struggles to fit in. You don’t see how she struggles to understand the social cues. You don’t see how seriously she takes what you say even if you’re joking. You don’t see the struggles when she’s having an overwhelming...

Keep Reading

When You Look Back on These Pictures, I Hope You Feel My Love

In: Kids, Motherhood

I document your life in pictures. I do it for you. I do it for me. I do it because I want you to know I lived every memory. And loved every moment. When you go back through the thousands of moments, I hope it sparks something deep inside of you. Something that perhaps your heart and mind had forgotten until that moment. And I hope that it makes you smile. I hope the memories flood and you remember how much each moment was cherished. I hope each giggle and secret that was shared with your sisters at that moment sparks...

Keep Reading

For the Parents of the Kids Who Don’t Fit the Mold

In: Kids, Motherhood

This one is for the parents of the kids who don’t fit the mold. I see you holding your kid together with nothing but love and a prayer as they cry or feel defeated and you wish the world would see your kid like you do. I see you wiping away their tears after they were yet again passed over for all the awards and accolades. There is no award for showing up for school despite crippling anxiety or remembering to write down assignments for the first year ever. So they had to sit clapping again for friends whose accomplishments...

Keep Reading

Let Your Kids See You Try and Fail

In: Kids, Motherhood

Mother and daughter sitting on floor knitting together

Let your kids see you try and fail at something. That’s what I did today! My daughter wanted to take a knitting class together. I said sure, naively thinking the skill would come pretty naturally. I’m usually good at things like this. Guess what? It didn’t. Although she picked it up easily and was basically a knitting pro within five minutes, the teacher kept correcting me, saying, “No, UNDER! You need to go UNDER, not OVER.” She was kind enough, but it just wasn’t clicking. I started to get frustrated with myself. I normally take things like this in stride...

Keep Reading

My Kids Don’t Like to Read, but They Do Love to Learn

In: Kids, Motherhood

Two children reading with each other, color photo

I fell in love with books during a war while my kids lost interest in reading during COVID. Between 1975 and 1990 during the Civil War in Lebanon, my mom, an avid reader, was determined to make me one despite many odds. Once every few weeks, starting when I was about 10, she and I would make the half-hour trek by foot from our apartment in Beirut to a place we called the “book cave.” It was a nondescript space—about 15 by 20 square feet—tucked in the basement of a dilapidated building. Inside, it housed hundreds of books in various...

Keep Reading

Dear Teachers, Thank You Will Never Be Enough

In: Kids, Living

Growing up a teacher’s daughter has given me a lifetime of appreciation for educators. Of course, it’s true; I may be biased. I’ve been fortunate to have learned and been guided by many outstanding teachers, including my mother and grandmother, who passed those legacy skills onto my daughter, who strongly feels teaching is her calling. But if you’ve had your eyes and ears open in recent years, you, too, probably feel deep gratitude for the angels among us who work in the school system. So, as the school year ends, and on behalf of parents, grandparents, and anyone who loves...

Keep Reading

Before You, Boy, I Never Knew

In: Kids, Motherhood

Three boys playing in creek, color photo

Before you, boy, I never knew that little boys could get so dirty. Play so rough. Climb so high. Assess your risks. Make me hold my breath. Messes everywhere. Before you, boy, I never knew how much my lap will make room for you. My arms will stretch to swallow you up in endless hugs and just hold you close. And love you to the moon and back. And back again. Snuggling and snuggling. RELATED: I Met a Boy and He Changed Everything Before you, boy, I never knew that there would be so much wrestling. And superheroes, and far-off...

Keep Reading

It Hurts Seeing My Kid as a B-List Friend

In: Friendship, Kids, Teen

Kids everywhere are celebrating, or will be celebrating soon. They will be playing outside, enjoying warm summer days, bike rides with friends, and maybe even sleepovers. It’s summer—it’s fun, right? Sure, it is. And sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes it isn’t fun for the kids you least expect it from. We have that issue, and I knew it was building for the past few weeks with our teenage daughter. She was moody (moodier than normal). Short tempered. Obviously frustrated, but not ready to talk about it. But it was when she came home on the last day of school, in tears,...

Keep Reading

Dear Teacher, I See You

Journal

Dear Teacher, I See You

Dear Daughters, You Have to Show Up for Your Friends

Motherhood

I Can’t Give You All of My Time, But I Promise to Give You My Attention

If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Her View Shop

Stevie Swift

7 Strategies for Reducing Your Kids’ Screen Time

Dear Tween, I Will Try To Remember You Little

Look beyond the Labels for What You Don’t See

When You Look Back on These Pictures, I Hope You Feel My Love

For the Parents of the Kids Who Don’t Fit the Mold

Let Your Kids See You Try and Fail

My Kids Don’t Like to Read, but They Do Love to Learn

Dear Teachers, Thank You Will Never Be Enough

Before You, Boy, I Never Knew

It Hurts Seeing My Kid as a B-List Friend

free email bonus

5 Ways to Connect with Your Kids

A National Bestseller!

Order So God Made a Mother

I Can’t Give You All of My Time, But I Promise to Give You My Attention

If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Her View Shop

7 Strategies for Reducing Your Kids’ Screen Time

Dear Tween, I Will Try To Remember You Little

Look beyond the Labels for What You Don’t See

When You Look Back on These Pictures, I Hope You Feel My Love

For the Parents of the Kids Who Don’t Fit the Mold

Let Your Kids See You Try and Fail

My Kids Don’t Like to Read, but They Do Love to Learn

Dear Teachers, Thank You Will Never Be Enough

Before You, Boy, I Never Knew

It Hurts Seeing My Kid as a B-List Friend

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like

5 Ways to Connect with Your Kids