Keeping your cup full
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,
so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.
1 Peter 2:2 NIV
When you’re with a new baby, chances are, they’re hungry. Or tired, or need their diaper changed, or need burped. But hungry is definitely at the top of the list.
As they get just a little older, whether nursing, taking a bottle, or using a sippy cup, chances are, they’re still hungry. It’s hard to keep those little bellies full!
Thankfully, we learn how to read our little one's needs, or at least some of them, some of the time. The request is often through tears. And once they start moving, it might be an empty bottle or sippy cup thrown across the room.
The point is, a little one knows when they’re hungry. They also figure out how to "tell" you so that their belly gets filled up again!
After having the girls, the only thing that really filled me up for a long time was sleep. With 3 newborns, and then 4 under the age of 4, it was what I craved more than anything. Sleep was what brought me up out of pure survival.
As the girls have gotten older, and a little more independent, I’ve found myself working to rediscover what makes me feel full (and not just in my belly).
Honestly today I'm feeling like my cup is well below full. It's not the rumble of my tummy that's telling me; that would probably be a lot easier. However, I have discovered 3 things that I recognize about myself that signal my cup is dangerously low:
I spend a day doing "cleaning laps" in the kitchen, only to put my head up to realize I've cleaned nothing and missed whatever mess or silliness the girls are up to.
I get to the end of the day and realize I haven't asked Stephen or the girls for hugs.
I realize I'm not singing along to the music in the car!
When that third one hits me, I usually look back and realize it's been at least a week. It may seem silly, but with the girls at 11 and 8 years old, I’ve been through enough fill ups and empties to know it rings true. I'm still working on realizing I need a fill up before it's totally spent!
The things that take my cup from empty to full…. I’ll keep working on that. I did get a 15 minute break from writing to you to rock a Sylvia who just couldn't fall asleep. That sure was a great start!
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