What’s A Mom To Do?

Along with being a mom  I am also a preschool teacher.  I actually call myself a professional mom.  I wipe noses, give hugs and sometimes send kids to time out or as I like to call it,  “the thinking spot”.  Anyway, one of my adorable students had lice.  What is it with kids and lice? I know with reading this you are starting to get itchy all over and are scratching your head.  Now, the myth of lice is that only dirty kids have it,  however, lice like clean hair.  Fortunately I have never had this happen to any of my children for which I am very happy about  (My son will have a buzz cut tonight, though and my daughter will be coated with grandmas Aquanet).   Well, I had to make the phone call to this child’s  mom. 

The, “you need to pick your child up” phone call is never fun and many times I have been on the other side of the phone with Mrs. Dalena, your child has a fever, diahrea, blah, blah, blah.  The list could go on. It’s always hard for moms, who work, when they get that phone call to pick up their sick kids.  Most moms I have talked to never have a problem.  They just say “I’ll be right there”.  But I know that there are some moms who are given a hard time about leaving their job to tend to their child.  I wish managers could understand that our first role is in taking care of our families health.  So many moms are made to feel guilty on both sides of this spectrum, however.  Do I medicate my kid to make it through the day or do I just call in sick and catch wrath from my boss?  Sometimes it can be a very hard dilemma.  One that I know many moms have to go through.  “Mommy  guilt”  can set in very quickly when those decisions have to be made. 

So what can we do when we are put in this situation?  Well,  James 5:16b says, that the prayers of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  Prayer? Really?  Sounds so simple but it is so powerful.  When you read James 5:17,18 you see,  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.  Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

So remember, prayer in any situation is important whether it’s making decisions about our kids,  and our bosses.   Will we make the right decisions all the time?  Probably not, but if we are truly seeking God’s direction He will lead us the right way.

Oh, my student’s mom had no problem picking her child up and he was able to come back to school the next day.     

So remember prayer is our best defense in any situation sick kid or other.  Now, stop scratching!