If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but I have not loved ...
I am a housekeeper not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing and decorative achievements,
but have not loved...
my children learn cleanliness, not godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.
Love smiles at the fingerprints of a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes away the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
Love is present through the trials.
Love reprimands, reproves and is responsive.
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with child, then stands aside to let the youth walks into adulthood.
Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart.
Before I become a mother, I took glory in my house of perfection.
Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.
As a mother, there is much I must teach my child,
but the greatest of all is love.

Author unknown.

Being a mother, one can't help to reflect on the trespasses that kept her love for her child at bay rather than reaffirming it by the actions her decisions assigned. Recalling the times when I've angrily scolded the children at the mess from their art creations rather than appreciating those rather wonderful talents and thus overlooking the shortcomings of children. One thing is to change for sure- life is short, so stop 'sweating the small stuff '. Love them with absolut patience. They are after all just little angels.