I know, I know…another Mother’s Day post.
I’m sure I won’t say anything that you haven’t heard before.
I mean…c’mon Mom…they’ve probably heard (and seen!) it all before…
Last year, I celebrated Mother’s Day with Tera tucked safely inside me. I was a Mother. I had experienced life growing and kicking inside of me. I knew I would always be a Mother. It was a special day and I was so excited to dive into the realm of motherhood.
But this mother’s day was a new type of Mother’s Day.
I have my beautiful 9 month old baby, and I love the precious gift that she is. She is a blessing and my 2nd most precious gift (my first would have to be…Theo!).
But motherhood is hard. I’m not going to gloss over it and say that I love every minute of it. I’ve heard people say that before and I always think of that when I’m about to pull out my hair because Tera has been crying for 2 straight hours or when she rolled over and crawled away the moment I unstrapped a pooooopppy diaper (yes, it happens all the time). Um, no…in those moments I don’t love being a Mom. Is it worth it? Oh, yes…yes it is. And in hindsight it’s sometimes funny, and I’m sure it’s something I will miss, but I’m telling you that not every moment is rainbows and unicorns and cute pictures and matching outfits.
But if motherhood was easy, we probably wouldn’t have good mothers. We would just have people. People who function as a female who gave birth to children. But good mothers? Good mothers are those who have worked HARD to become good mothers.
They are people like my Mom, who raised two little toe-heads on the edge of the Sahara desert….with no electricity, and often no running water.
They are people like my mother-in-law who raised seven boys…boys who respect their wives and have learned how to make a living for themselves.
They are people like my sister in law Kindrea who shows consistency in raising and disciplining her kids, and who works hard from sun up to sun down….and does not fear for the future.
They are people like my sister in law Eryn who faithfully and positively raises her children with patience and gentleness that I greatly admire.
They are people like the ladies in my church: Nancy, Rosann, Missy, Paulette, Jill – who are faithfully being “older women” showing younger women how to do the task- by being honest about the difficulties and the struggles, by praying us through our mothering and by giving advice, hugs and a good laugh whenever it is needed. (And by older women, I simply mean further along in their experience of motherhood!)
They are people like my peers: Shannon, Sarah, Mandy, Vanessa, Jess and Joy who are also learning the ups and downs of parenting, who inspire me that I am not alone in my joys and struggles, and who share tips and tricks and laughs along the way.
Those are people who work hard to be mothers. Who sacrifice more than you or I will ever know. Who follow Christ and respect their husbands. Who will be the first to admit that they are not perfect and that they fall down and make mistakes so many times.
But that is the beauty of it. We have this wonderful community of women who have all made mistakes. We all have strengths and weaknesses. And we can all learn from each other.
So Happy Mother’s Day to you! And to me…jeez, I have worked hard for it!
My friend Nancy gave me this quote, and I thought I would share it with you all:
“Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work. Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone.”
P.S.
My Mother’s Day gift? Theo set an alarm to wake up in the middle of the night and paint my kitchen. He was up almost all night painting my kitchen (and the cabinets), and when I woke up in the morning, I was SO SURPRISED to see this!
