I Love You Lots and Cows

After fifteen years of motherhood, I’ve developed an affinity for moms who are REAL. 

You know, the kind- the ones who can laugh over their toddler’s latest tantrum in the grocery store and cry with you when you’re overwhelmed with potty-training.  And even more than REAL, I love having a friend who understands what this gig we call parenting is all about. I love being surrounded by women who know that, in the end, motherhood isn’t just about carpooling and diaper-changing. It’s not about time-outs and soccer games. Motherhood is about an all-sufficient Savior calling flawed and floundering women to live beyond themselves- at 2 A.M. when the baby’s crying, at 9 A.M. when the laundry’s piling, and at 5 P.M. when the kids are fighting. Motherhood is God’s brilliant way of shaping us into women who walk closer with Him.

That’s why I adore my friend Becky Kopitzke. She gets it. She lives it. And she shines so brightly for Jesus that she makes me want to grab my handful of crazy kids and chase after that Savior she loves. I know you’re gonna love her “as much as cows and peanut butter,” too.

Here’s Becky…

I don’t know where she got the idea.

Maybe it was because we’d just visited our friend’s dairy farm. She found the animals intimidating—larger than life. In my daughter’s world, those cattle were the biggest thing imaginable. That might be why, when her dad asked her, “How much does Daddy love you?” our toddler answered, “Cows.”

“Cows?” My husband laughed. “Silly, how much does Daddy love you?”

Again, she answered, “Cows.”

For days, our daughter upheld this baffling reply until finally my husband taught her an appropriate response. I walked into the family room to find them both beaming and clapping their hands.

“Say it for Mom!” my husband cheered. “How much does Daddy love you?”

“Lots!” she shouted. “Lots and cows!”

It’s been several months since we first heard this phrase, and now it’s etched in our ears and on our hearts. Our toddler declares at random, “Momma, I love you lots and cows.” She says it to her sister and to her daddy. So we reply with hugs and the same special endearment. “I love you lots and cows, too.”

I wonder—how much does God love us? If he had to describe in human-scale terms his colossal, unfathomable love, I think he’d say. . .

I love you this sunset.

I love you Grand Canyon.

I love you Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Mars.

My child, can’t you see? I love you Jesus.

Wow. That is big indeed.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” (John 3:16).

“How much does Momma love you?” I asked my daughter yesterday.

“Lots and cows!” She smiled.

I kissed her forehead, held her cheeks in my hands and followed up with a new question. “And how much does God love you?”

“Lots and cows—and peanut butter!”

Precious girl. She gets it.

Becky Kopitzke is a freelance writer, dreamer, potty trainer, lunch packer, snowman builder and sidewalk chalk artist.

She lives with her devoted husband and their two young daughters in northeast Wisconsin, where a pink indoor trampoline fills half the living room.

Becky believes parenting is one of God’s greatest tools for building our faith, character, and strength—and it’s not always pretty.

On her blog, Time Out: Devotions for Moms, she offers weekly encouragement for fellow imperfect moms, pointing our weaknesses, blessings, and victories to God.