Motherhood was a blessing to Mary, the answer to her prayers. But sometimes all her blessings—all seven of them aged 4 to 19—were a lot for one mother to handle. One morning seemed more hectic than others. There were missing shoes to find, requests for more chocolate milk, and a number of small crises to resolve.  

As a parent, Mary had weathered bigger storms than lost shoes. Her fifth son, Jeffrey, was born with a heart defect that required two cardiac catheters and three open-heart surgeries. Her husband was struggling to find a steady job after a period of unemployment. A stressful morning at home was nothing by comparison. So why did she feel so overwhelmed today? So close to her breaking point?  

She retreated to the bathroom, the one room in the house where she had privacy, and shut the door behind her. Out in the hall, she could hear the tiny feet on the stairs and the familiar cries of “Mom! Mom! Mom!”  

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and prayed. Lord, help me. I’m having trouble handling all my blessings today.  

She opened her eyes and saw something moving in the crack under the door. Bunches of tiny fingers wiggling to the sound of giggles. All at once, she was laughing too.  

One day, she thought, those fingers are going to be too big to fit under that door. All of her children would grow up and move on to lives and children of their own. When that time came, she knew, she would miss these crazy days with all her heart. She opened the door and swept them up into a hug.