If

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in it's place
but have not love, then I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker
if I have time for waxing, polishing,and decorative achievements but
have not love, my children learn of cleanliness not godliness,
love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.

love smiles at the tiny finger prints on a newly cleaned window
love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk
love picks up the child before it picks up the toys

love is present through the trails
love reprimands,reproves, and is responsive
love crawls with the baby,walks with the toddler
runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth
walk into adulthood.

Love is the key that opens salvations message to a
child's heart
before I became a mother, I took glory in my house of perfection
now I glory in God's perfection of my child
as a mother there is much I must teach my child but
the greatest of all is LOVE

I love this poem , I have always been kind of a perfectionist of sorts (seems to run in my family)
I had tried to have a child many times and found out that I had infertility issues so I went through procedure after procedure to correct this and start a family with the love of my life
got pregnant but miscarriage after miscarriage and then a tublar pregnancy losing my right ovary and tube I found my self wondering if I was ever to have children, family members in their supportive way would tell me that it was not the end of the world if I could not have children. it does not define who you are and I would think to myself easy for them to say they have their children and my parents would not be around to see mine. so I continued with the process to concieve a child. I felt like a failure it was not the fault of my husband I am the one who had the physical problem I took the hormone shots, took the hormone pills knowing the risks that I later in life would be a supreme candidate for all the side effects of the drugs ( i did not care) I am now suffering from some of those side effects then I finally decided enough, if I was meant to have children I will adopt someday, so I decided that my body and spirit needed the rest. upon my return from a well deserved vacation I found out I was pregnant after a careful pregnancy I brought my son into this world he was certainly the gift that I was praying for, and then told that he would be my only child ( i could accept that at least I was a mother) but the Lord blessed me again two years later with my daughter, after that birth it was physically better for my health that I have no more children.
I found the above poem and have kind of used it for the basis of raising my children, ( oh I still am a neat freak but I can let it go just to be with the kids, well they are not really kids they are young adults getting ready to fly on their own( which they kind of already do with all their activities)
the house is still the same, I wipe away the tears before I wipe up spilled milk, I smile at the fingerprints on a cleaned window
and on a daily basis I thank the Lord for his greatest gift
Love