A Note About "Yes" and "No"

(bittersweet- so often a mother's lot)

There has been lots of talk lately about saying yes and saying no.  "Women have got to learn how to say NO!"  "Mothers have to look past the messes and inconveniences and learn to say YES!"

Well, I think to the Christian mother that these two statements, taken alone, are incomplete.  The idea of saying NO usually comes along with a selfish "Take care of yourself first!" philosophy that grates against the grain of Christ's teachings.  On the other hand, we can easily feel overwhelmed and inferior when we feel unable to say YES to all the wonderful things we could possibly do with our children.  So, we have to learn to say the right nos in order to be able to say the right yesses. 

I think (note: I just think this; I have not mastered it in any way.  I just thought of it twelve minutes ago while I was switching the laundry from wash to dry.) that the idea would be to learn to say NO when it affords an opportunity to say YES to something larger...larger when submitted to Christ's measure, not the world's.