I felt led to write this post for a few reasons: To encourage the mom who wants to give up to keep fighting. To sympathize with the mom who thinks that she may lose her mind if the crying does not stop. To let the mom who fed her child cereal for dinner or let her child have candy before 8 AM know, that I too do not always have it all together, nor do I always do it "right". To share in the struggle with the single mom who feels completely overwhelmed and alone and remind her that she is strong and capable. To remind the SAHM that just because she doesn't leave her home to go to work, that I know she is overworked, never paid, and that her job is never done. To empathize with the working mother who leaves her child with someone else every morning and wonders if she is doing the right thing by pursuing a career for personal or financial reasons. To love on and support the mother of a child with special needs who is exhausted and feels helpless. To tell the mother of more than one child that she deserves an award...and a vacation. To grieve with the mom who has lost a precious life. And to express to the woman who wants so desperately to be a mother to never lose faith. Most importantly I wanted to remind all of my mommy friends to live by the standard of grace. Extend it to others (Especially to those who make lists on their blog and do not know proper colon usage). And please grant it to yourself. Not one of us is going to get it right all of the time. We just aren't. When you feel overwhelmed, take a step back and breathe. Being a mommy is so much easier when you just relax and be mommy and ignore what the world wants you to be. I have learned that I must accept that I cannot do it all. I just can't. Physically and emotionally. And everything cannot and will not be done perfectly (or turn out anything like it looks or sounds on Pinterest!) I am learning to ask for help. I am learning to ask for prayers. I am learning how to let go and cling only to the good stuff!
I have never experienced grace like I have over the past few years. Through stress and disappointment, heartache and solitude, I have felt the grace of God. A divine intervention in my life to protect me from negative thoughts and feelings, give me strength, and fill me with a peace I could have never attained on my own. It is amazing to me how God strategically places people in my life and then uses them to bless me, months, sometimes even years, later. His plan was in place long before mine was. And I know He has been with me every step of the way. The confidence and strength I have now can only have come from Him.
On one of the first nights William and I spent in our new home he looked at me and said, "It's me and you and you and me, Mommy", then smiled the sweetest smile. His words brought me to tears as I realized how extraordinary our new journey would be and just how imperative it was that I never lose my faith or my focus for this joyous little boy. Being Mommy to William was a part of His plan.
Even when life is falling apart, when everything seems to be going wrong, when chaos surrounds you, God is still God and God is still good. He will sustain you. He will give you just what you need.
He will give you grace.
Happy Mother's Day
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