Today, while folding the babies clothes, I stopped for a moment and just stared at my hands. My fingers are awkward and tired. They haven’t seen a manicure in I don’t know how long and I’ve basically given up the thought of getting one anytime soon.

Today these hands have:

• packed my husbands suitcase for an overnight trip.

• changed the babies diaper and helped my toddler go potty.

• fed the baby and toddler breakfast.

• cleaned up spilled milk.

• played pat-a-cake.

• got the baby’s bag together to for a visit with Grandma.

• changed another diaper.

• bathed, brushed hair and teeth, and clothed two wiggly boys.

• semi-dressed myself.

• put enough makeup on to appear alive.

• dropped one child off at Grandparents.

• loaded laundry into the washer.

• took out trash.

• fixed lunch.

..and that’s just the first half of my day. Should I go on?

Chances are if you’re also deep in the trenches of motherhood then our day probably looks very similar! Picking up toys, wiping runny noses, washing dirty dishes, changing poopy diapers, and cleaning crumbs out of every nook and cranny is inevitable..unless you are “Supermom”.. and just in case you are, please tell me what your secret is! It’s easy to pick a mother out of a crowd…just look at her hands. She’ll be the one with the chipped nail polish that’s pushing a buggy full of things that are for everyone other than herself and has the cutest baby boy who is screeching loud enough for everyone on the other side of the store to hear! I may or may not have been describing myself just then.

By looking at the palms of a mothers hands, the daily demands that her hands face are evident. Yet what some may fail to see are the willingness that God designed these hands with. The strength to keep going when she’s too tired to pick up another toy. The super hero power of getting a knotted shoelace untied. The ability to pry open your child’s crocodile strength jaws when they’ve managed to place a tiny foreign object into their mouth. What I see are the tiniest hands that intertwine their fingers around yours and never want to let go. When I see dirty bottles and dishes, I see that I am blessed to feed my family. When I see the toys scattered and the laundry mounting, I know I’m blessed with a place to call home. When I see my husbands muddy work boots by the door, I know I’m lucky to be married to someone who provides for his family and leads by example.

Mothers, somehow we find the strength to pick up just one more toy. We possess the quick ability to pry a foreign object from the grips of our toddlers crocodile jaws. We summon traits we didn’t know we would ever even need. These two hands are the ones that reached down to feel every butterfly kick when my baby was still being formed in my womb. They’re the ones that rock his precious soul to sleep at night. The palms that held my husbands tight as we said “I do” and began a life together. The fingers that pick fresh flowers to grace the table we gather around as a family. If you look at your hands, you may see rough around the edges. I encourage you to look closer. Because the two hands that rock the cradle are the hands that change the world.