Excerpt from THRIVE AND SURVIVE, ZERO TO FIVE

How well I (Margaret) remember the day two-year-old Louisa jammed the drinking-water button inside our refrigerator. When I opened it ten minutes later, the water had filled to the third shelf, which hit me like an icy tidal wave. Cleanup meant an overhaul of the entire kitchen and refrigerator, two time-consuming chores on an already jampacked day.

Before children, women can prioritize orderly to-do lists and tackle the items one by one, often from start to finish. But after little ones arrive, every day is chopped into small bits of several minutes apiece, which can cause tremendous frustration. And interruptions? They’re constant.

You might say, “But my Motherhood Mission Statement is taped to my desk, and I’m going to follow that.” Before you became a mom, those words were a banner of assured triumph, but babies can’t read. Even if they could, it wouldn’t matter, since they come with a firmly intact banner of their own. It says ME AHEAD OF YOU.

And that’s not all.

When you cradle your firstborn immediately after birth, little do you know then that the U-Haul truck parked outside the hospital loaded with baby gear belongs to him. After it follows you home, each item must be given its own parking spot within your once-organized living space.

At first you don’t mind that your home resembles a Babies R Us outlet. You love the sight of your vibrating infant seat and battery-operated swing. But after you’ve tripped over them seventeen times, you’re ready to kick them out the front door. So what can be done?

SIDEBAR: ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MOM

• You are equipped to mother your child.
• Your child is a gift from God.
• You know your child best.
• Your work as a mom is never wasted.
• You are God to your child.
• You are never alone.
• You are loved by the Creator.
• Your refreshment will come from God’s Word.