Small Frames Hold Big Love

Big magic in the mundane, the big picture in a small frame, everything is sacred when you take time to notice, big love happens in the small moments....


Can I just be honest here?
Sometimes my adult kids really frustrate me.
When the frustration hits,
it’s usually due to worry.
Am I allowed to say that as a pastor’s wife?
​Most of my kids read my blog posts.
Not sure how that will go 🤣,
but if they’re honest, they’re kids or spouses frustrate them now and then too.

I know I’ve said it before, but you mamas who think it’s so hard with little ones...
Just wait.
When they’re little it seems like their hearts are bursting with unconditional love for you, plus~ you get to tell them what to do. 😂
Sure, they might not obey every time, but when they’re really little, it’s SO much easier to teach them why your words of wisdom are so important.

And when they’re really little,
they usually listen.

I tend to let the “not listening” part of adult children really get to me. Often my feelings get hurt and I feel unloved when I don’t understand the direction they’re going, and it seems like they’re disregarding me as a parent and the things we taught them when they were little.

But then God gives me mama moments.

Moments filled with comfort. They might not be living under my roof anymore or doing things the way that I taught them, but if I’m truly praying for them, if I’m truly leaving my children in the hands of God and trusting Him, then I should not be worried at all. And He always ends up showing me just how loved I am.

This past Christmas was one of those mama moments.

The kids gave us a video they put together of pictures of our grandchildren set to music. Ten years earlier they gave us a similar video, but it was full of pictures from their own childhood-My husband watches that video all the time, and every single time he gets teary eyed.

So, we all jammed into my tiny 10’ x 12’ TV room to watch the new video. Some were standing, grandkids were on laps and the room felt like chaos.

But when the video started, magic happened~ silence filled the room as everyone watched.

As I watched.

I watched the video, but I also watched my adult children and their spouses. Every single one of them was wiping away tears as eyes were glued to the screen. They weren’t tears of sadness.
They were tears filled with love.
The love their hearts were feeling.
And man, my heart was full.
So much love filled that room.

God was in that room.

This was a big moment in a small frame and I don’t think any of them probably realized that at the time. But I did.

And God told my fretful, worrying mama heart that I was too often trying to hold on to this big picture and freaking out about what I thought life for my adult children was supposed to look like, when all the while He was giving me small frames to hold onto every single day in the mundane. Beautiful pictures inside those frames to show me how truly wonderful life with my adult children was.

I was trying to control what was inside that big picture instead of realizing that He is the only One who can. I was doing the same thing to God that I thought my adult children were doing to me. I wasn’t listening to what He had been teaching me all along, but instead I was doubting His love and goodness. I was doubting that He would take care of them.

That big moment in a small frame will forever be etched in my heart and I will look more often for those small frames that my life holds. Small frames God gives me every single day.

So moms of adult children, don’t fret, don’t worry, don’t let your heart hurt. Don’t feel unloved. I know it’s hard. I’ll probably never stop parenting or wanting them to listen to my advice, but if we’ve been praying for our children, if we’ve truly given them to God, then we can’t let the frustration and worry control us. Allow Him to hold your big picture. We might not ever see the finished portrait here on earth, but we can rest in the fact that our Heavenly Father is still perfecting every stroke. One day when we take our last breath and stand face to face with our Savior, He will show us that beautiful picture and it will be so much more glorious than we could have ever imagined.

Until then, enjoy all the beautiful small frames He hangs on the walls of your heart every single day~and trust Him.

Because those small frames hold big love.