Who ever said that being a good mom meant being at home all the time, playing on the floor with the baby, doing laundry in a timely fashion, having all the nooks and crannies free of dust balls?
I’ve found myself in a odd place of analyzing my role as mom these days. I have a baby again (my oldest three are 15, 11, and 9), and part of me has begun to compare my self to the kind of mom I was when our first three children were little. My life looks much differently now. The things that occupy my days are very, very different.
I sat in the prayer room the other day wondering, should I just be at home playing with Elia on the living room floor, arranging play dates, and staying on top of the housework? However, as I contemplated these things, I was struck by the reality that though my life looks much differently now, and although Elia’s playroom most morning is the floor of the prayer room, I really do love being a mom here at IHOP. I don't intend to paint a rosey picture becuase it is rarely easy. There are many challenges involved with being a mom here at IHOP, but I'll leave that for another post.
I don't think that I even have a clear understanding of the full impact of what I am doing most days, but I think that perhaps it is something big- something beyond what I can understand right now. I think that perhaps having this tiny girl raised in the house of prayer may be the most important thing that I do in this life. She’s so at home here.
Even as I write, she is sitting on the floor playing with her little Bible activity book and singing her heart out, bouncing up and down to the music as the room is praying for Zimbabwe. Her little voice gets louder with the swell of prayer and worship in the room. She responds to the music with a little bounce and wavy arms.
She has been in this prayer room about 12 hours a week since she was just a few weeks old. She is often carried around by intercessors that I know pray for her and sing over her as they hold her. She is being immersed in the spirit of prayer. This is her NORMAL… she knows nothing else.
I'm watching Psalm 8:2 take place every day of my life, as praise (strength) that was "ordained" to come from Elia's mouth comes forth to silence the enemy.
So if you see Elia in the prayer room, and if you hear her, know that she is impacting the heavenlies with the sound of her voice. I don't take that lightly!
