My Purse Contents: Burdens or Blessings?

My purse was looking particularly bulky today, so I decided it was time to sift through its contents. Here’s what I found:

• Three empty Ziplock bags
• Several coupons that expired in April
• My super-duper coupon organizer
• A plastic Eeyore figurine
• Four size 5 diapers that would actually fit the baby and one size 4 diaper that would not
• A “note” from Madeline (AKA lots of scribbles and a few elementary “Ms”)
• Two grocery receipts with obscene totals
• Three pens and one highlighter
• One crumpled tissue and two pocket-sized packs of tissues
• Two pennies
• One dime
• Some Goldfish crumbs
• One piece of gum (still in its wrapper, thank goodness)
• My wallet that includes absolutely no pictures of my second-born child
• A prayer for vocations
• A rosary
• A small stuffed bear
• A brochure for our local botanical garden
• A Tide-to-Go pen
• A package of mixed dried fruit
• A mixed berry fiber bar
• Two boxes of raisins
• An empty Snack Trap
• A lint brush
• A Bandaid
• An umbrella
• Baby wipes
• A diaper changing pad
• One bib
• A kids’ sun hat
• My nursing cover
• Sunscreen
• Hand lotion
• A hairbrush
• A reminder for the baby’s 15-month well-child visit
• Balmex
• A nail file
• My Family Y picture ID
• One piece of pinestraw, two pebbles, one dried flowered (all gifts from Madeline)

Okay, so my first thought as I looked at this heap of junk was that I probably don’t need to be carrying around all of this stuff everywhere I go. Second thought: Nothing quite says “Mom” like baby bum ointment and an endless supply of snacks.

That got me thinking. Here I was trying to unburden myself of all this extra stuff I carry around these days. It wasn’t too long ago when I carried a fashionable clutch and its contents embraced the minimalist mindset – there was an ATM card, my driver’s license, a tube of my fave lipstick and maybe one or two other essentials, but there certainly weren’t any cracker crumbs or shiny pebbles.

I could think of my overflowing purse as a burden. I could long for the days when I didn’t need to lug around enough edibles to stock a small pantry, diapers, and natural artifacts my preschooler picks up wherever life may take us. I could think of motherhood and my children as burdens as well, burdens that rob me of “alone time,” sleep, trendy purses, and the freedom to do what I want when I want to do it.

But I choose not to. I choose to see my children and my vocation to be their mom as a gift and a blessing. I’ve heard it many times before that God doesn’t call the equipped. Instead, he equips the called.

I have been called and thankfully, it’s not only my purse that is well-equipped to handle any situation that might arise being a mom of young children. God has equipped me, too. As I was reminded with this past Sunday’s Gospel reading, if I make Christ’s way my way, then the sometimes heavy, exhausting labor of motherhood is made light. What’s more, Christ has the power to make all those things society tends to see as burdens – from being a mom to many to an unexpected pregnancy – and turn them into blessings.