“You are the mom they need. You are enough.”
David (my husband) told me this last week and my goodness did I need to hear it. I hope that this post is an encouragement for moms just like me.
Last week was a hard week. It was one of those weeks where everyone wanted everything from me at the same time.
“Mooommmmm, can I have a snack?”
“What’s for Dinner?”
“Mom, can we play a game with you?”
“I can’t reach my jacket!”
“Can I play iPad?”
“Mom, Mei Mei needs a diaper change.”
“Wahhhhhh! (toddler)”
“Mom, I’m done going potty!”
Social media bombards us with images of perfect looking families. These families seem to have everything in order — their activities, their teeth, their home — it’s just so perfect. As I see all of this and see my own family, I find myself falling into a pattern of comparison where all I can see are my own shortcomings.
Thoughts like these start to bombard my mind:
“You should start meal planning like her.”
“Her kids are always getting along.”
“She has five kids and can still keep up with the house.”
“Maybe I’m not teaching my kids well.”
“I wish I could take pictures like that.”
Within minutes, guilt fills my mind and spirit. Insecurity as a mother, doubt and discouragement all begin. Dear friends, this is exactly where I have to allow the Word to preach to me. This is where I have to stop myself from listening to my own voice, social media’s voice, and even the voice of friends and listen to The Voice. The voice of Jesus through His Word. Jesus gives encouragement for moms in the Bible by declaring that I’m His child. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” – I John 3:1
This is where I have to stop myself from listening to my own voice, social media’s voice, and even the voice of friends and listen to The Voice. The voice of Jesus through His Word.
Encouragement for Moms comes from God’s Word
My sweet friend Cindy reminds me constantly of the truth of the Bible, and she cautions me to steer clear of the lies the enemy and the world will tell me.
On a phone date the other day, she encouraged me to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This continual process of bringing every thought I have under submission to Christ transforms me into a person of peace. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
These sweet promises from the Lord are designed to release us from the pressures we face and serve as an encouragement for moms. How? They put the pressures into their proper place under Christ. They no longer dictate how we live. God is for us, Christ is in us, and He is more than enough.
During the early child-rearing years, I know it can become easy to grow weary from day-in and day-out sowing into our children without much fruit: changing diapers, bending low to talk to them through a tantrum, disciplining, packing lunches, finding time to eat, helping with homework, folding laundry, bedtime routines, cooking dinner, and the list goes on.
There are days where I am longing for bedtime and waiting for the day to end. God in His grace, brings me back again and again to the truth of the Gospel. Gospel truths that rely on the truth that God is enough for our children…and for me. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” – I Peter 5:7
As a wife and mother, my first ministry is my family. In marriage and in our home we as women get the wonderful blessing of showing our children the joy of being in relationship with our heavenly Father. Even though we are far from perfect, as we submit, the Lord will constantly change us to be more like Him.
This is the good news of the gospel: that we are able to rest all our feelings of ‘not being good enough,’ and remember that we are able to parent with the grace the Lord has given us and the freedom from the pressures that bind me. God chose YOU specifically to parent the little sweet gift(s) He has given you. If you have Christ, through Him you are enough!
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. (Psalm 127:3)
“You are the mom they need. You are enough.”
Cheering you on as you read this! Go, Mom!
Journeying with you,
Maxine
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