The other week we were all out together riding bikes/pushing the stroller when we got the very familiar comment of “Wow! You have your hands full!” My oldest daughter who is almost 9, turned to me and said, “mommy why do people always say that?” And it really hit me. If you have a larger family, you know this comment isn’t anything new – and it’s not in the least bit offensive to me. As a mother of 5 young children, I DO have my hands full! But the thing that struck me was that my daughter noticed the frequency in which we get those comments. Whether people mean it in a negative way or not, our children are listening to the world around them. They are so observant to how our society views them. We read in Psalm, “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from Him”. Children are a GIFT! They are not a burden.
As I said before, this comment doesn’t bug me in the slightest, but perhaps we can rethink our mindset when we see a mama out with her (literal) hands full. While the remark, “you’ve got your hands full” might not be untrue, how can we reframe our mindset to encourage that family with our words?
A few days later, we were out again and a passerby said, “wow, you guys are so blessed. You’re doing great!” Mindset shift. Such a little effort, but definitely a different message.
I’d love to know, moms/dads, how do you respond to the “you’ve got your hands full” comment?
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